Bishop Pabillo’s voice: Source of light, hope in dark times

Philippine Daily Inquirer | March 29, 2021

OPINION

Bishop Broderick Pabillo deserves praise not just from Catholics, but from all Filipinos. He has contributed a valuable element lacking in today’s national governance — a reasonable approach to solving crises. The bishop’s indignant and firm riposte at the latest move of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases comes from a critical and creative mind that seeks the spiritual good of his flock. His approach can be useful in pursuing not merely the spiritual aspect, but also the other facets surrounding this present crisis.

The good bishop has pointed out the flaws of the system now in use in proposing solutions and tactics. He was right in demanding clarity of concepts and strategies. How do you define “mass gatherings” in the first place, for example? Is a worship service, kept to the minimum of participants and adhering to health protocols, necessarily an illegal mass gathering? He was also correct in insisting that actions, before being imposed, should go through open, enlightened, and participative consultations. Decisions from above that do not take into account the actual situations and do not involve the people who will be affected are oppressive, if not unrealistic, prejudiced, and ineffective.

It was clear that the bishop was unfazed by the negative reactions of regime supporters and even of bullying threats from a spokesman who should be reminded that he is a mere mouthpiece and not a decision-maker. What mattered most to Bishop Pabillo was doing his responsibility as a cleric and as a citizen. His pastoral statement consisted neither of vitriol nor empty rhetoric, if you return to the text itself. Nowhere did he call for defiance, since he himself vigorously enforces to this day the protocols in the churches under his care. He, however, did challenge the concerned officials to think and act rightly this time, and hopefully in the future. Surprisingly, they responded to his challenge positively.

The Church, imperfect and far from spotless, nevertheless has 500 years of direct encounter and experience in helping the sick and the dying, the hungry and the homeless, the depressed and the unemployed, and it has done more than its responsible share during this pandemic. It has also not failed to add its voice to the clamor for the rights of marginalized, indigenous, targeted, and tagged individuals and groups. In an atmosphere that tries to quell the opinions, suggestions, and questions of people, and that tries to dismiss dissenters as nonpartners in dialogue, the bishop’s voice and directive to his church come as a source of light and hope. Bishop Pabillo not only spoke out; he first provoked his own people to be seriously decisive, participative, and reasonable. Those in power who heard his voice learned a valuable lesson, too.

JONATHAN DANIELS

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TUNGO SA PAGHILOM: “Bakuna, Bakuna, Magliligtas Ka Ba?”

Mga Katotohanan at Impormasyon Hinggil sa mga Bakuna para sa COVID-19

Mga layunin ng pamphlet:

  1. Magbigay ng mga batayang impormasyon hinggil sa bakuna sa COVID-19 at maging gabay sa diskusyon sa mga komunidad. 
  2. Magbigay ng mga tamang impormasyon hinggil sa bakuna at malabanan ang takot dito ng mga komunidad gamit ang mga tama at siyentipikong datos at pag-aaral Maghain ng mga panawagan na maaring bitbitin ng mga komunidad hinggil sa libre, accessible, epektibo at ligtas na pagpapabakuna laban sa COVID-19 at iba pang serbisyong medikal.
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Activism in the Christian Prophetic Tradition

The Problematique:

This is a difficult topic to deal with: Activism in the Christian Prophetic Tradition.  It invites fear: the war against drugs and the war against communist terrorists have created the same patterns of victimization: the “tokhang” against the poor suspected of involvement in the drug trade and the activists involved in the work for social change, on behalf of justice, peace, human rights and integrity of creation.  “Tokhang” is carried out, first by identifying them publicly either as drug peddlers or red-tagged activists, then the procurement of search warrants, the raids in the middle of the night, followed by arrests, disappearances and the kill or the massacre, with impunity!   It provokes anger: why should the “tokhang” be directed at activists who are helping construct a better world of justice and peace?  More profoundly, it challenges the deepest, most complex contradicting resources of our being:  faith and faithlessness, hope and hopelessness, love and lovelessness, compassion and despair, hatred and indifference, humanity and animality, fanaticism and meaninglessness, life and death, justice and violence, action and paralysis. 

In our situation, the “tokhang” style of legalized repression and extra-judicial killings is justified by the Anti-Terror Law.  The seeming connivance of both Houses of Congress and the Judiciary and the seeming voluntary obedience of the people to this way of doing things is provided for by the demagoguery of populism and its populist leader.  Pope Francis provides a prophetic analysis of populism and populist leadership when he says:

individuals are able to exploit politically a people’s culture, under whatever ideological banner, for their own personal advantage or continuing grip on power. Or when, at other times, they seek popularity by appealing to the basest and most selfish inclinations of certain sectors of the population. This becomes all the more serious when, whether in cruder or more subtle forms, it leads to the usurpation of institutions and laws. 

(Fratelli Tutti, 159)

This is the social context of our reflection today on Activism and the Christian Prophetic Tradition.  The problematique that we must face in this situation is this:  Shall we, out of fear, cower and cease to be activists, or shall we overcome fear and transcend it and assert our activism? Or shall we be carried away by anger, and unleash our activism to its limits, and let this anger construct that better world? Or can anger – just anger – construct a better world? Or more profoundly still, can we still get in touch with the core of our being and behold the qualities of our humanity, or shall we allow the beast, the animal and the baser and basest instincts in us to triumph over and rule our being?  What are our choices? 

The words of Paul come to mind, thus:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.

(2 Cor 4:7-11)

Activism, Anyone?

In the time prior to, during and shortly after Martial Law and the Marcos Dictatorship, activism was a prized word.  It conjured the image of deep serious scientific study and rigorous critical thinking, of preferential option for the poor and leaving one’s comfortable home, convent and institutional work and routine in favor of the messy, exciting, dangerous and adventurous life with the poor and the adoption of their smell, sweat and struggle to eke out a living. 

It was an exciting time for student activists who demanded academic freedom, recognition of student power and non-commercialization of schools and education. It meant commitment to the cause of national freedom against US imperialism, Soviet revisionist expansionism and Chinese social imperialism on the one hand, and social emancipation from domestic feudal landlordism, government corruption and big business control of an economy that basically catered to foreign interests on the other.  Many of them dropped out of school in order to learn from the masses and develop an alternative education which their studies could not interfere.

The progressive members of the Church and the religious, inspired by the aggiornamento of Vatican II, took this activism to heart.  Priests, sisters and those in formation in their clerical and religious habits picketed the huge party of an haciendero that had a fountain flowing with champaigne.  They lived with the sacada of Negros, and it was a young Jesuit priest, Fr. Arsenio Jesena, SJ who exposed the oppressive, exploitative, unjust condition of the sacada in the hands of the contratista and the haciendero. (Fr. Arsenio Jesena, SJ, The Sacadas of Sugarland, authorsden.com).  A French diocesan clergy came to introduce to the Filipino clergy the life and work of “worker-priests”, priests who worked in the factories to earn in order to live like any other worker, without forsaking their sacramental and pastoral duties.  Nuns left their convents and institutional works and lived with the peasants, the lumad, and the urban poor, so that their spirituality, theology and life would articulate the Gospel values of Jesus’ preferential love for the poor.  The ICM, the CFIC (later called SFIC), the RGS, the MSM, the m.a., the Maryknoll and the Columbans were at the forefront of this new movement of renewing and liberating the Church from within.  Priests and religious got involved in organizing cooperatives among farmers and workers; their ministry became more holistic, integrating liturgical-sacramental renewal with social action that were humanitarian-developmental and later, with the work for justice, peace, integrity of creation and liberation.  Literature and communications facilities thrived that not only announced the spirituality and theology of the Church but also proclaimed the life of the Church in the Modern World: the Impact Magazine, the Ichthys, the Ang Tao magazine, the movie Sugat sa Ugat of the Communication Foundation for Asia, and the radio stations of the religious and the dioceses.

In initial formation, seminarians clamored for renewal in formation in light of the vision of Vatican II.  They organized themselves into the Inter-Seminary Forum of the Philippines.  They studied the Ratio Fundamentalis and proposed changes. The bishops accepted the seminarians’ proposals.  The fruit of this activism is manifold: seminary training would now include secular courses like social work, organizational and financial management, exposure and immersion programs, a year of socio-pastoral experience, student government in the seminary and an independent seminary publication.  Probably most notable was the establishment of new seminaries designed to be formation houses in the bosom of the people’s quest for justice, peace and liberation: the experimental theology schools pioneered by Fr. Carlos Abesamis, SJ in Quezon City, Fr. Rodulfo “Dong” Galenzoga in Lanao del Norte, and the Inter-Congregational Theological Center also in Quezon City.

In liturgy, this activism in the Church produced the Misa ng Sambayanang Pilipino, a project of the seminarians of the CICM under the tutelage of Fr. Anscar Chupungco, OSB.  In theater arts, Pagsambang Bayan of Boni Ilagan was a hit musical that merged the mass of salvation with the struggle of the poor for freedom and liberation under Martial Law and the Marcos Dictatorship.  Theologically, the historical development of this activism in the Church and society produced the Theology of Struggle.  This identity of doing theology in the Philippine setting was coined by Fr. Luis Hechanova, CSsR. 

Pastoral Letter Celebrating the 500th Year of Christianity in the Philippines

“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” (Mt 10:8b)  This was among the instructions that Jesus gave to his apostles, when sent them out on a mission.  It is also our inspiration for the year 2021, which we declared as a “Year of Mission”, with the theme “Gifted to Give”, as we prepare to commemorate the 500th Year of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.

POPE FRANCIS’ MESSAGE

This could not have been expressed more beautifully than by the Holy Father himself when he addressed Filipino Catholics in Rome and around the world and said, “On this important anniversary of God’s holy people in the Philippines, I also want to urge you to persevere in the work of evangelization—not proselytism, which is something else.  The Christian proclamation that you have received needs constantly to be brought to others…”  He also expressed how this could be carried out more concretely by asking us, “to care for those who are hurting and living on the fringes of life.”

Reflecting on John 3:16, the Holy Father asked us to think of mission as oneness with the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ as the one who “so loves” and “gives”; and that the giving always proceeds from the loving.  He therefore invites the Philippine Church to be “a Church that loves the world without judging, a Church that gives herself to the world.”

The Holy Father likewise warmed the hearts of our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) when he said, “You received the joy of the Gospel… and this joy is evident in your people… in your eyes, on your faces, in your songs and in your prayers.  In the joy with which you bring your faith to other lands.”  He also humored us by referring to our OFWs as “smugglers of the faith” because, he said, “wherever they go to work, they sow the faith,” and he regards their “discreet and hardworking presence” as “a testimony of faith…through humble, hidden, courageous and persevering presence.”

For his part, our very own Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle affirmed the Holy Father’s message when he said, “We thank God for the bearers of the gift these 500 years.” Among them, he cited “the pioneering missionaries, the religious congregations, the clergy, the grandmothers and grandfathers, the mothers and fathers, the teachers, the catechists, the parishes, the schools, the hospitals, the orphanages, the farmers, the laborers, the artists, and the poor whose wealth is Jesus.”

THE BEARERS OF THE GIFT

There has never been, and will never be, a moment in Church history when the bearers of the gift entrusted to us by the Lord will not be both holy and sinful, noble and flawed, at the same time.  Such was the case, for instance, with the first Christians who came to our blessed islands in 1521 and encountered our native ancestors for the first time.  As in most situations in history, God did not seem to mind sowing the first seeds of the Gospel through flawed human beings like the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and the members of his crew in the 1521 expedition from Spain, who were all lay Christians, with the exception of one ordained priest in their company, Fr. Pedro de Valderrama, who was serving as their chaplain.

These men were mostly mercenaries.  But they almost instantly turned into missionaries the moment they “discovered” the fertile soil of good will in the natives they had encountered in Samar, Leyte, and Cebu.  They had come from distant Spain with a mandate—not to evangelize but to find an alternative route to the Moluccas.  They had arrived like hapless strangers in dire need of shelter.  They were sea-beaten, weary from the long and perilous journey through the South Pacific ocean, afraid of hostile natives, wary of pirates, hungry, thirsty and sick.  Of the five ships that departed from Spain, only three made it; one got ship-wrecked, and one deserted them.  They even had to deal with conflicts and mutinies among themselves while at sea.

THE GOLD THEY DISCOVERED

If they were in search of gold, these explorers knew they had found it, not underground or in treasure chests, but in the hearts of the nine simple fisherfolks who quickly disarmed their defensiveness with their childlike simplicity and friendliness.  They were surprised by these natives who made them feel welcome, gave them food, fish, fruits and coconuts, who allowed them to pitch their tents on the island of Homonhon and later, Limasawa, helped them care for their sick, bury their dead, and worship their God.

They who thought of our ancestors as pagans, as godless people, were surprised to find God in the generous hearts of these natives, who opened their doors and treated these weary travelers with compassion.  They also went out of their way to help them procure enough food provisions, to be able to reach the Moluccas and eventually return to Spain.  So touched must Magellan have been by the spontaneous gestures of hospitality, friendship, and generosity that he had observed while in the company of these natives, that, from mercenary, he suddenly shifted to acting like a missionary in all his awkward and limited knowledge of the Christian faith.

THE FIRST MASS AND THE FIRST BAPTISMS

Pigafetta, the chronicler, could not contain his own emotions as he narrated how awed he was about the kindness of these gentle souls to them.  He described in great detail how they had gone out of their way to build them a platform made of bamboos in Limasawa on which they could celebrate their first Mass on that Easter Sunday, March 31, 1521, and another one in Cebu when they celebrated the first Baptisms on the third Sunday of Easter, April 14, 1521. Magellan did not pressure them to do all of this at gunpoint.  They did it in the plain spirit of panunuluyan, pagpapakatao, and pakikipagkapwa-tao, which are the genuine vessels of evangelization. 

At the first Mass in Limasawa, Pigafetta describes how the families of Rajah Kolambu and his brother Rajah Siagu even volunteered to join them, how they too knelt at the consecration with them, how they offered them gifts of two slaughtered pigs and assisted them in planting the cross.  The icon of the cross which means the whole world to us now, this symbol of God’s eternal love and the price the Son of God is willing to pay for love of humankind, this cross of our redemption, became the first Christian icon ever to be brought to the consciousness of our ancestors. 

If Pigafetta had lived in our own times, he would probably be saying these natives put them to shame—they, who claimed to be Christians. They, who thought they were bringing us the Christian faith, must have felt like they had “discovered”  it instead in the beautiful hearts of our ancestors, and the baptizing became practically a mere naming of what they had “discovered”—namely, God’s grace already at work in them.

So why should we be surprised about the swiftness in the process that led to the first baptisms in Cebu?  The woman named Humamay, the wife of Rajah Humabon, whom they named Juana, was just acting out the childlike faith of these people when she chose the Santo Niño as gift.  These natives had accepted them as friends, without malice, like little children who instinctively respond with trust, even to strangers, and express affection to them, no matter what other hidden motives they might have. And, as always, these hidden agenda eventually rear their ugly heads, since they are always Satan’s favorite strategies for “nipping in the bud” the seedlings that have sprouted from the seeds sown by God.

WEEDS AND WHEAT IN THE FIELD

As in the parable of the field planted with the good seeds of wheat (Mt 13:24-30), soon, Satan gets busy at sowing the seeds of ill will, hidden agenda, and wrong motives that have always served as a huge challenge in the work of evangelization.  But the mystery of it all is that the Great Sower allows both the weeds and the wheat to grow together, and does the sifting only at harvest time. 

In those 46 days (March 16 – May 1, 1521) that God got busy sowing the seeds of the Gospel on the soil of friendship and good will between Magellan’s company and the natives and their Chieftains, the devil also got busy sowing the seeds of hidden motives and political agenda that would lead to a whole string of treacherous acts on either side.

The Laity of the Archdiocese of Manila Speaks: “Let My People Go to Serve Me”

25 March 2021

We, the Council of the Laity of the Archdiocese of Manila, composed of lay leaders from the 86 parishes and communities in the cities of Manila, Makati, Pasay, San Juan and Mandaluyong, recognize that the CoVid-19 pandemic has entered into a more dangerous phase with new highly transmissible variants and a rising number of CoVid-19 cases. We support the Government’s efforts to both stem and reverse the rising tide of infections as well as the valiant efforts of our health workers, our heroic frontlinersin our common battle against CoVid-19, to care for those who have fallen victim to the virus.

Our support can best be seen in our strict adherence to the health protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in our celebration of the Holy Mass and other liturgical activities since the start of the pandemic. We appreciate that our Administrator Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo has consistently consulted with our parish priests and local communities regarding measures to be taken under the principle of subsidiarity to ensure cooperation. In light of this, we strongly dispute that our religious gatherings have been “superspreaders” of the CoVid-19 virus as seen in the recent celebration of the Feasts of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo and of the Sto. Niño in Pandacan and Tondo which did not result in any “spike” in the number of CoVid-19 cases,

While we understand the urgency of decision making in times of crisis, we respectfully request our government officials to consult and listen to stakeholders who would be affected by decisions prior to implementation. We take as an example the Catholic church’s observance of Holy Week, especially the Holy Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. This is the most important celebration in Christianity, made even more significant this year by the national commemoration of 500 Years of Christianity in our land.

We support our Archdiocesan Apostolic Administrator, His Excellency, Bishop Broderick Pabillo’s discernment on his pastoral instruction “We Worship The Lord”, especially the reminder to follow the principle of subsidiarity to let parish priest, in consultation with lay leaders, to decide on matters of religious activities to celebrate this special occasion, with an ensured strict compliance to existing health protocols at all times.

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NCCP Supports Bishops Pabillo and David on IATF’s order to ban Religious Gatherings on Holy Week

Bishop Reuel Norman O. Marigza, NCCP General Secretary

 NCCP  March 24, 2021

Quezon City: The National Council of Churches in the Philippines, the country’s biggest aggrupation of mainline Protestant and Non-Roman Catholic churches, echoed the sentiment of the Archdiocese of Manila Bishop Broderick Pabillo and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David on the IATF’s order to ban public gatherings during the imposition of GCQ including religious services.

“I fully share the sentiments of my brother bishops from the Roman Catholic Church. It is grossly unfair that without due consultation with the churches, religious gatherings during this holy season for Christians are prohibited,” Bishop Reuel Norman O. Marigza, NCCP General Secretary said.

“In these anxious times, more than the strict, unjust, and inconsistent imposition of orders, the spiritual succor that the churches bring are much needed by the people. Churches and the religious services they provide, help people by providing spiritual support system, morale-boosting, help in reducing psychological stress and promote good mental health,” the Bishop added.

To recall, IATF ordered the prohibition of public gatherings during the imposition of GCQ in Metro Manila and provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, now called as NCR Plus from March 22 until April 4 through the IATF Resolution No. 104 approved by President Rodrigo Duterte.

On the Palace statement early today that the government can order churches to close if necessary through the enforcement of the police powers, Bishop Marigza stated: “For more than a year, the churches have been strictly observing the health protocols imposed by the Department of Health and the IATF in the conduct of the religious services, the least that they could have done was to consult us.”#

Pagninilay: Kalbaryo at Pagbangon sa Panahon ng Pandemya

Matapos ang isang taon sa ilalim ng pandemya, tila lalong napalayo ang maraming Pilipino mula sa buhay na nararapat at kasiya-siya (Juan 10:10).

Ngayong kuwaresma, inaanyayahan namin ang lahat upang sama-samang magnilay sa kasalukuyang kalagayan nating mga Pilipino sa pamamagitan ng isang online webinar na pinamagatang “Kalbaryo at Pagbangon sa Panahon ng Pandemya”.

Ito ay gaganapin ngayong Martes Santo, Marso 30, sa ganap na 9:30 to 11:30 N.U.

Para makibahagi, magregister lamang sa link na ito: https://forms.gle/RciTUHwmh4Z5YyYo6

Hinihikayat ang mga dadalo na magsuot ng itim na damit, maghanda ng facemask at bell o anumang matunog na bagay bilang parte ng programa.

Ito ay pinangungunahan ng National Council of Churches in the Philippines kasama ng Churchpeople Workers Solidarity (CWS), Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), United Methodist Church PCC-Board of Church and Society (UMC PCC-BCS), Promotion of Church-People’s Response (PCPR), at United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP).

#KalusuganHindiKalbaryo
#KabuhayanHindiKalbaryo
#Bakunaparasalahat

Rediscovering “Amoris laetitia” during the Family Year

Blessing of a newlywed couple, in 2017. (Photo by FABIO PIGNATA/CPP/CIRIC)

Pope Francis has asked the worldwide Church to use the next year to more deeply reflect on and implement his 2016 apostolic exhortation on marriage and the family

La Croix International | By Céline Hoyeau | France

The Catholic Church has now begun “The ‘Amoris Laetitia’ Year of the Family”, an initiative Pope Francis officially launched on March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph, Universal Patron of the Church.

The special year, which will conclude on June 26, 2022 at the World Meeting of Families in Rome, is aimed at deepening and putting better into practice Amoris laetitia, the post-synodal exhortation on the family that the pope issued five years ago.

What is the status of this text?

Amoris laetitia is now the Church’s “roadmap” on family issues, says Oranne de Mautort, former director of the family office of the French Bishops’ Conference.

This lengthy papal document is the fruit of an unprecedented process of consultation and deliberation.

The pope sent a questionnaire to all the world’s episcopal conferences in 2013 in the run-up to two, back-to-back assemblies of the Synod of Bishops in 2014 that looked at issues relating to today’s family.

Bishops and experts from around the globe used the two assemblies to discern the issues brought forward by the baptized faithful, theologians and pastors.

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