Month: April 2020

Statement on Earth Day celebration

Human life depends on the well-being of the planet and all of its inhabitants. The more we disturb biodiversity, the more we put our lives and health in danger.

A study conducted by the Harvard Medical School said that “when we develop an infectious illness, we tend to believe that we caught it from another person, who in turn caught it from someone else, and that germ that made us ill had never resided in any species other than our own.”

The study revealed that this belief is false more times than not. “For most human infectious disease – some 60 percent – the pathogen has lived and multiplied in other organisms before having been transmitted to people,” the study said.

Today, as we celebrate Earth Day, we must expand the COVID-19 pandemic narrative beyond health and economic issues. We must look at environmental destruction as the root cause of the global pandemic. Humans take wildlife out of their natural habitats and exploit finite resources. Human activities – destructive extraction, coal projects, large-scale logging, mono-cropping plantation, among others – destroy biodiversity as if we are not part of it.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only calls for a deep social and structural conversion but for a very intimate ecological conversion and change in our ways toward the environment.  Our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is in the hands of us all but to prevent more pandemics and crises in the future will depend on how we take care of Our Common Home.

Our remaining forests and biodiversity are continually being threatened by extractive mining operations and the building of dams. Respect for God’s creation is disregarded when irresponsible mining practices are allowed to continue. Land and life are desecrated when almost two-thirds of the ancestral domains of indigenous peoples and more than half of protected and key biodiversity areas are directly threatened by mining applications and operations. Despite shreds of evidence against 26 mining operations ordered closed or suspended last February 2017, not one mine has stopped extracting because of technical administrative loopholes. Social justice is not served when only the few mining companies, many of which are also owned by political leaders, reap the benefits from mineral extraction.

Another problem related to mining is the phenomenon of our country’s growing dependence on fossil fuel-based energy, such as coal. There are at least 23 existing coal-fired power plants operating across the country; 28 more may be operational this year. To support and sustain this dependence, a huge number of coal power plants involved in extensive coal extraction has to be put in place. Thus, coal mining projects have been allowed to increase to 186, including small-scale ones. Worse is, most of these coal projects are located within the vicinity of communities of indigenous Filipinos and are supported by rich ecosystems and biodiversities.

The burning of coal and other fossil fuels and the destruction of nature are natural consequences of extractive mining. Needless to say, these industries are pursued primarily for profit accumulation and rarely, if at all, in response to peoples’ needs. This is the root cause of the continuous escalation of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere which, in turn, is causing the climate crisis.

The prevalent anthropocentric and utilitarian perspectives tend to negate our ethical role of responsible stewardship and deny the reality that humans are part of nature. We need a paradigm shift in order to reestablish our sacred relationship with nature. Pope Francis in the Encyclical Laudato Si underlines that: “Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it.” (Laudato Si, #139).

A paradigm on ecological conversion needs to usher in a new awareness: that the earth and all of nature is our common home. We are part of nature and we need to respect and protect our home – the entire ecosystem, the habitat and biodiversity of the planet. As Rachel Carson reminds us: Man is part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”

Father Edwin Gariguez
Executive Secretary
National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA)/ Caritas Philippines
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

Vatican City | Apr 19, 2020 | (CNA).

Here is the full text of Pope Francis’ homily on Divine Mercy Sunday, delivered April 19 at Santo Spirito in Sassia, Rome.

Last Sunday we celebrated the Lord’s resurrection; today we witness the resurrection of his disciple. It has already been a week, a week since the disciples had seen the Risen Lord, but in spite of this, they remained fearful, cringing behind “closed doors” (Jn 20:26), unable even to convince Thomas, the only one absent, of the resurrection. What does Jesus do in the face of this timorous lack of belief? He returns and, standing in the same place, “in the midst” of the disciples, he repeats his greeting: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19, 26). He starts all over. The resurrection of his disciple begins here, from this faithful and patient mercy, from the discovery that God never tires of reaching out to lift us up when we fall. He wants us to see him, not as a taskmaster with whom we have to settle accounts, but as our Father who always raises us up. In life we go forward tentatively, uncertainly, like a toddler who takes a few steps and falls; a few steps more and falls again, yet each time his father puts him back on his feet. The hand that always puts us back on our feet is mercy: God knows that without mercy we will remain on the ground, that in order to keep walking, we need to be put back on our feet.

You may object: “But I keep falling!”. The Lord knows this and he is always ready to raise you up. He does not want us to keep thinking about our failings; rather, he wants us to look to him. For when we fall, he sees children needing to be put back on their feet; in our failings he sees children in need of his merciful love. Today, in this church that has become a shrine of mercy in Rome, and on this Sunday that Saint John Paul II dedicated to Divine Mercy twenty years ago, we confidently welcome this message. Jesus said to Saint Faustina: “I am love and mercy itself; there is no human misery that could measure up to my mercy” (Diary, 14 September 1937). At one time, the Saint, with satisfaction, told Jesus that she had offered him all of her life and all that she had. But Jesus’ answer stunned her: “You have not offered me the thing is truly yours”. What had that holy nun kept for herself? Jesus said to her with kindness: “My daughter, give me your failings” (10 October 1937). We too can ask ourselves: “Have I given my failings to the Lord? Have I let him see me fall so that he can raise me up?” Or is there something I still keep inside me? A sin, a regret from the past, a wound that I have inside, a grudge against someone, an idea about a particular person… The Lord waits for us to offer him our failings so that he can help us experience his mercy.

Let us go back to the disciples. They had abandoned the Lord at his Passion and felt guilty. But meeting them, Jesus did not give a long sermon. To them, who were wounded within, he shows his own wounds. Thomas can now touch them and know of Jesus’ love and how much Jesus had suffered for him, even though he had abandoned him. In those wounds, he touches with his hands God’s tender closeness. Thomas arrived late, but once he received mercy, he overtook the other disciples: he believed not only in the resurrection, but in the boundless love of God. And he makes the most simple and beautiful profession of faith: “My Lord and my God!” (v. 28). Here is the resurrection of the disciple: it is accomplished when his frail and wounded humanity enters into that of Jesus. There, every doubt is resolved; there, God becomes my God; there, we begin to accept ourselves and to love life as it is.

Dear brothers and sisters, in the time of trial that we are presently undergoing, we too, like Thomas, with our fears and our doubts, have experienced our frailty. We need the Lord, who sees beyond that frailty an irrepressible beauty. With him we rediscover how precious we are even in our vulnerability. We discover that we are like beautiful crystals, fragile and at the same time precious. And if, like crystal, we are transparent before him, his light – the light of mercy – will shine in us and through us in the world. As the Letter of Peter said, this is a reason for being “filled with joy, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials” (1 Pt 1:6).

Environment groups belonging to Break Free From Plastic Philippines (BFFP) lambast Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its push to incinerate medical wastes produced during the COVID-19 outbreak here in the Philippines. In its statement, ADB had said that “Manila should properly dispose of 16,800 tons of infectious medical wastes produced in the past two months of battling the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, or risk overwhelming its medical transport and disposal systems.” The ADB proposed that “other resources including mobile incinerators, industrial furnaces and cement kilns could be assessed for use if existing systems are overloaded and capacity is limited.”

Incinerating medical waste is no longer allowed as stated in the Department of Health (DOH) Manual on Health Care Waste Management. The manual says autoclave, microwave, sterilization and chemical disinfection are among the processes that can be used to treat medical wastes.

 “It is unfortunate that ADB is taking advantage of the current crisis to revive its business agenda of incineration in the country which is legally prohibited.’ said Rei Panaligan, National Project Coordinator of BFFP Philippines.

The said bank has been financing waste-to-energy projects in Asia over the last ten years. Most of which are in China where the new coronavirus was first detected.

 “This proposal from ADB is just a way to justify its financing of technology that is dirtier and deadlier than SARS CoV-2 virus because the health and environmental hazards that incinerators can bring are irreversible and irreparable,” Panaligan added.

The ADB is also behind the proposal for big ticket waste-to-energy incinerator projects in Quezon City, Cebu City and Davao City which all have failed due to financing and economic viability.

In 2018, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) launched its report ADB and Waste Incineration: Bankrolling Pollution; Blocking Solutions. The report is a critical review of how ADB promotes investments in WTE incineration despite documented negative impacts of these facilities on public health, environment, economy, and the climate.

According to GAIA, WTE incinerator facilities advanced by ADB present significant investment risks, fail to comply with key provisions of the bank’s safeguard standards as well as core pillars of the bank’s poverty reduction strategy, and present a lack of accountability to the very people within member countries it is mandated to serve.

 “If indeed the ADB is a development bank, it should be investing in mainstreaming sustainable livelihoods based on the zero waste approach that will reduce poverty and uplift the living conditions and quality of life of waste workers and their communities instead of serving corporate interests.” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of Ecowaste Coalition. “There are proven success stories across Asia in addressing municipal solid waste and even healthcare and industrial wastes without incineration,” added Lucero.

The groups reminded the bank that waste incineration—a practice that is both unsustainable and polluting—is illegal under the Philippine Clean Air Act. They also called on the ADB Board of Governors to do their duty to ensure that funding for COVID recovery goes to solutions that conserve resources, protect health and which do not harm the climate, rather than to dirty and destructive projects.

BFFP Philippines is a collaboration of leading health and environmental networks such as the EcoWaste Coalition, GAIA Asia Pacific, Greenpeace, Health Care Without Harm Southeast Asia, Mother Earth Foundation and Oceana Philippines International.

LiCASNews
Inday Espina-Varona, Philippines
April 17, 2020

In a span of 24 hours, the Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare changed two crucial policies in the delivery of aid to those affected by a lockdown aimed at stemming the spread of the new coronavirus.

On April 17, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles announced that the department, which is headed by retired Army chief Rolando Bautista, would no longer exercise veto powers over the list of beneficiaries of the government social amelioration program from local government units.

The social welfare office also backed off its April 16 demand that private aid groups seek permission and pay application fees to continue efforts to fill the vacuum in basic social services to communities and health workers.

Nograles said the department will now validate the recipient lists post-distribution of aid, allowing faster flow of about US$1.573 billion in cash aid to vulnerable families outside of those already enrolled in the government’s unconditional cash transfer program for the poor.

The announcement came a week after a general outcry from elected village leaders tasked with the actual distribution of aid.

Dozens of these officials slammed the national government for delays caused by a slew of convoluted, sometimes contradictory, rules and President Rodrigo Duterte’s insistence on centralizing powers in the hands of a small group of retired military officers in his Cabinet.

Duterte said the move would cut down corruption and lead to systematic and prompt delivery of services.

While nobody questions the generals’ personal integrity, their policies display lack of consensus-building skills and a narrow preference for “order” over empathy toward the needs of the country’s 17.6 million poor families, including the 5.2 million families that live in the capital Manila.

LiCAS News
Inday Espina-Varona, Philippines
April 17, 2020

Health officials have ordered a stop to the testing of people for COVID-19 in a village in the central Philippines after learning that at least 54 residents have been infected by the disease.

Daisy Villa of the Cebu City Health department announced a stop to tests as armed soldiers and policemen started to barricade the village of Zapatera to prevent residents from leaving.

Villa said the order to stop the tests came from the country’s Department of Health in Manila, which advised local officials to consider the entire village infected.

Health undersecretary Rosario Vergeire denied a halt to testing in Zapatera village.

Cebu City Mayor Ergardo Labella, responding to appeals by the local village head, ordered mass testing to continue.

The city government said 82 have now tested positive in the village. The mayor ordered testing in all other nearby villages.

The alarm in the city of Cebu came as the mayor of the city of Valenzuela in the capital announced that its first round of mass testing showed five of 40 tests turned out positive for infection.

Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian ordered those confirmed of the disease to be isolated in a building initially constructed as a drug rehabilitation facility.

“We will take care of them,” said the mayor. “We’ll make sure they are well-fed and they’ll be given medical intervention,” he said.

Gatchalian said the patients will again be tested based on existing testing protocols “until they turn negative.”

On April 17, the health department recorded 218 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 5,878.

The gap between the number of recoveries and deaths further widened as 52 more people recovered from the disease, bringing the total to 487. The death toll is now 387, with 25 new fatalities.

Gatchalian typifies local government executives in the Philippines who have become critical of the national health department’s cumbersome COVID-19 testing protocol.

The mayor decided to focus first on patients with known exposure to cases earlier confirmed by the Department of Health.

“If we want to contain the spread of COVID-19, then we have to test exposed residents, whether or not they have symptoms, and then isolate the new infections,” he said.

This modified process of testing would also allow a new round of contact tracing, said Gatchalian.

He described the first results of the mass testing in his city as “alarming.”

He warned that not testing all persons with exposure to confirmed cases increases the odds of community transmission even with a lockdown.

The city government is spending local funds for the tests, with an initial target of 550, followed by mass testing of health personnel.

The first round will be completed on April 18, with kits sourced from South Korea but using the Philippine health department’s two-day test process.

The mayor said kits and testing cost about US$100 per patient, with a private hospital processing swab samples.

The case in the central Philippine city of Cebu is sobering and raises questions of what the national government risked by delaying the purchase of test kits and authorizing decentralized tests.

On April 16, the Philippine Senate has passed a resolution calling for the resignation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, citing failure in leadership.

President Rodrigo Duterte, however, rejected the call.

The health secretary also got the support of a Catholic bishop who said Duque may not be a perfect leader but “he is delivering something.”

“The fact that the increase of the infection of the virus is not the same with other countries means there is good management involved,” said Bishop Oscar Florencio of the Military Ordinariate.

The prelate said if there is really a need to change Duque, it should come from the president.

“If [the senators] are persistent to remove Duque then let’s wait up to the end of the enhanced community quarantine by the end of April and strategize again,” he said.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the inter-agency task force handling the government’s COVID-19 response appreciates Duque for “telling it as it is.”

Duque earlier claimed a tight global supply market prevented the arrival of test purchases, but legislators said the government only started looking after a surge in infections.

The Philippines until last week was dependent on donations from China, Singapore, South Korea, and other aid partners.

Two Definitions of Peace

April 15, 2020
Virginia Forrester
General Audience

This morning’s General Audience was held at 9:30 am from the Library of the Apostolic Vatican Palace.

Taking up the series of catecheses on the Beatitudes, in his address in Italian the Pope focused his meditation on the seventh: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

After summarizing his catechesis in several languages, the Holy Father expressed special greetings to the faithful.

The General Audience ended with the recitation of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.

The Holy Father’s Catechesis

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

Today’s catechesis is dedicated to the seventh Beatitude, that of the “peacemakers,” who are proclaimed sons of God. I rejoice that it happens immediately after Easter, because the peace of Christ is the fruit of his Death and Resurrection, as we heard in the Letter of Saint Paul.

To understand this Beatitude it’s necessary to explain the meaning of the word “peace,” which can be misunderstood or sometimes trivialized.  We must orient ourselves between two ideas of peace: the first is the biblical, where the beautiful word shalom appears, which expresses abundance, prosperity, and wellbeing. When in Hebrew one wishes shalom, one wishes a good life, full, prosperous but also in keeping with truth and justice, which will have fulfillment in the Messiah, Prince of Peace (Cf. Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:4-5).

There is, then, the other meaning, more widespread, of the word “peace,” which is understood as a sort of inner tranquillity: I am tranquil, I am in peace. This is a modern idea, psychological and more suggestive. One thinks commonly that peace is quiet, harmony and internal balance. This meaning of the word “peace” is incomplete and can’t be absolutized, because in life restlessness can be an important moment of growth. Often it’s the Lord Himself who sows restlessness in us, to go to encounter Him, to meet Him. In this sense, it’s an important moment of growth; whereas, it can happen that interior tranquillity corresponds to a domesticated conscience and not to a true spiritual redemption. Many times the Lord must be a “sign of contradiction” (Cf. Luke 2:43-35), shaking our false securities, to lead us to salvation. And in that moment it seems there is no peace but it is the Lord who puts us on this way, to arrive at the peace that He Himself will give us.

At this point we must remember that the Lord understands His peace as different from human <peace>, from that of the world, when He says: ”Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). Jesus’ peace is another peace, different from worldly peace. We ask ourselves: how does the world give peace? If we think of warlike conflicts — wars normally end in two ways: either the defeat of one of the sides or with peace treaties. We can only hope and pray that this second way is always entered into; however, we must consider that history is an infinite series of peace treaties refuted by successive wars, or by the metamorphosis of those same wars in other ways and in other places. In our time also, a piecemeal” war is being fought on more scenarios and in different ways.[1] We must at least suspect that in the framework of a globalization made up especially of economic and financial interests, the “peace” of some corresponds to the “war” of others.  And this isn’t Christ’s peace!

Instead, how does the Lord Jesus give His peace? We heard Saint Paul say that the peace of Christ is “to make of two, one” (Cf. Ephesians 2:14), to cancel enmity and reconcile. And the way to fulfill this work of peace is His body. In fact, He reconciles all things and puts peace with the Blood of His Cross, as the same Apostle says elsewhere (Cf. Colossians 1:20). And here I ask myself, we can all ask ourselves: who are, then, the “peacemakers”? The seventh Beatitude is the most active, explicitly operative. The verbal expression is analogous to that used in the first verse of the Bible for creation and it indicates initiative and laboriousness. By its nature love is creative — love is always creative — and seeks reconciliation at all cost. Those are called sons of God who have learned the art of peace and exercise it; they know that there is no reconciliation without giving one’s life, and that peace is always sought no matter what. Don’t forget this! It’s sought thus. This isn’t an autonomous work, fruit of one’s own capabilities; it’s a manifestation of grace received from Christ, who is our peace, who has rendered us sons of God.

True shalom and true interior balance flow from Christ’s peace, which comes from His Cross and generates a new humanity, embodied in an infinite array of men and women Saints, inventive, creative, who always thought of new ways to love –, the men and women Saints that make peace. This life of sons of God, which by the Blood of Christ our brothers seek and discover, is true happiness. Blessed are those that go on this way.

And again, happy Easter to all, in the peace of Christ!

[Original text: Italian]  [ZENIT’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]

© Libreria Editrice Vatican

In Italian

I greet warmly the Italian-speaking faithful. I wish you all to live fully the Easter message, in fidelity to your Baptism and to be joyful witnesses of Christ, dead and risen for us.

Finally, I greet young people, the sick, the elderly and newlyweds. Dearests, I exhort you to look constantly at Jesus who has overcome death and who helps us to accept the sufferings and trials of life, as a precious occasion of redemption and salvation. May the Lord bless you and the Virgin Mary protect you!

 [Original text: Italian]  [ZENIT’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]
[1] Cf. Homily in the Military Shrine of Redipuglia, September 13, 2014; Homily at Sarajevo, June 6, 2015; Address to the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, February 21, 2020.
© Libreria Editrice Vatican

Licas news
Jose Torres Jr.,  Philippines
April 15, 2020

The Archdiocese of Manila will be implementing changes in its activities even after the lockdown due to the global spread of the new coronavirus disease.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Manila’s apostolic administrator, said the archdiocese will definitely strengthen its social media presence and improve the ministry for the sick.

The prelate said the global health crisis has proven that social media has become an important toll in the people’s practice of their faith.

“Some realizations become clear to us,” said Bishop Pabillo in a pastoral statement released this week.

He noted that parishes that have “well-developed social media ministry” were able to reach their people easily and offer them services.

“Thus, we should develop our social media ministry. Online religious services are here to stay,” said the bishop.

He said the media apostolate “is here to stay and will play a greater role in the life of the Church from now on.”

Bishop Pabillo also urged all church institutions to set up “good social media ministries.”

He also noted that the pandemic “has shown us the importance of the ministry to the sick.”

The bishop said that in the Archdiocese of Manila there are only five priests who are in the hospital chaplaincy. Most of hospital chaplains are either religious or guest priests.

“We should seriously think as an archdiocese to strengthen our ministry to the sick, even down to the parochial level,” he said.

The prelate said the ministry to the sick should not only cater to the sick in hospitals but also to the medical staff, and the elderly in their homes.

He said there is a need to recruit younger lay ministers from older altar servers, or older choir members, or even ask religious sisters and brothers to help in the ministry.

In his pastoral statement, Bishop Pabillo also noted that the practice of “social distancing” will continue even after the pandemic.

He said there should be more Masses on Sundays after the pandemic to limit the attendance of people or ask the people to come when there are less people.

“Each parish is to determine the adequate spaces to be observed between the Mass attendees,” said the bishop.

“This would mean that Masses should no longer be on an hourly basis,” he said, adding that some time should be given between services for the cleaning of the church.

Big celebrations should be done outdoors, and churches can invest in big screens and outdoor sound systems for people who will remain outside the church.

The bishop said he expects alcohol and hand sanitizers to become regular features at the door of churches and offices.

He mulled providing a foot bath at the door steps of churches and offices.

Bishop Pabillo said people have to do away with the practice of touching or kissing religious images in churches, saying a bow or a moment of silent prayer would be enough. He urged members of the clergy in the archdiocese to use their creativity to serve the faithful “in the new situation that we are now in.”

By CBCP News
April 15, 2020
Manila, Philippines

A church official has echoed the calls for the immediate release of the government’s cash aid to workers, as Covid-19 quarantine measures continue to affect their livelihood and food security.

Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos pressed for a sense of urgency in assisting the country’s ordinary workers.

“We strongly demand that the Department of Labor and Employment immediately release the financial assistance to all affected workers whether from small, medium, and large enterprises,” Alminaza said.

The bishop, who also co-chairs the Church People – Workers Solidarity (CWS), said that many workers have not yet received the cash assistance since the Luzon-wide lockdown was imposed.

“Thus, workers and their families are left without income to buy food and other basic necessities,” said Alminaza.

He also urged the government to ask companies employing affected workers to apply for the cash assistance to mitigate the impact of the quarantine measures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to him, the DOLE assistance requires employers as the ones who should apply for the financial assistance for their workers.

“We reiterate our call to the government to oblige all companies to apply on behalf of their workers and/or allow workers to apply directly for the said assistance,” said the bishop.

About 220,000 workers affected by the lockdown have benefited from its Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program, the DOLE said.

Around 1.4 million workers have reportedly been displaced since the lockdown forced businesses to temporarily close or implement flexible work arrangements.

By CBCP News
April 15, 2020
Manila, Philippines

As church groups joined various efforts in distributing aid, a Catholic charity focused its attention to helping people with disabilities and informal workers.

Catholic Relief Services is supporting PWDs and workers in the informal economy who are struggling because of the Covid-19 lockdown with over P1.2 million of initial assistance.

Matthew McGarry, CRS sub-regional country representative, said that beyond the dangers of the disease itself is the current situation for poor families to meet their basic needs.

“We are focusing our efforts on assisting the most vulnerable populations, who bear the brunt of the lockdown and are at the greatest risk from the spread of Covid-19,” McGarry said.

CRS, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency, has programs across Asia. They have a sub-regional office in Manila.

The agency has partnered with Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc. (TWHI) to help at least 116 people with disabilities in a TWHI residential facility in Cainta, Rizal.

The assistance include a one-month supply of food and hygiene items that the residents themselves selected during remote consultations with CRS and TWHI.

Melo Bueza, TWHI’s social worker, said people with disabilities are suffering the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak.