“Marriage is a precious sign. It is an image of God’s love for us. This does not mean that the love spouses have for each other must be perfect… No love is perfect. But the love spouses have for each other is a dynamic process that progresses and improves with time over a lifetime. This is why marriage requires fidelity. Marriage lasts forever”. The Holy Father speaks about “foreverness” in marriage, in this fifth video of the 10-part series prepared as part of the celebration of the «Amoris Laetitia Family» Year. This time Pope Francis addresses himself particularly to spouses.
“Don’t be afraid to fail: fear is the greatest obstacle to welcoming Christ and His plan for our lives! Be careful of fear!”, the Holy Father powerfully warns us.
The Holy Father’s reflection is this time accompanied by the personal testimony of Donato and Francesca, an italian couple. Donato: “The gift of His Love makes the ‘forever’ possible of two fragile, limited and wounded creatures”. Francesca: “Our forever is a gift above all. We as a couple are especially aware of this when we struggle in building our loving relationship, but it is precisely here that we see the intervention of Grace” – the spouses say.
A series of 10 videos inspired by different chapters of the Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia”, encourages to re-read this papal document and to rediscover the family as a gift for its members, the Church and society.
Each video, accompanied by a pastoral guidebook divided in four parts, can be used flexibly either by families or by various ecclesial groups to nurture reflection, dialogue and pastoral practice as well as to families in their spiritual and concrete daily lives.
This pastoral resource is an initiative of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life in collaboration with the Dicastery for Communication, as part of the initiatives of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year.
Diocesan Youth Councils National Councils of FNYO Member Organizations
Dear fellow youth ministers,
Greetings in our Lord Jesus!
The Young Davids program of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth is conducting a non-partisan voter registration and education campaign. The CBCP-ECY seeks to partner with you to promote value-based civic engagement to prepare our young people for this coming May elections.
Our voter registration campaign is based on the “Tamang Kandidato sa Eleksyon 2022” (or “TamaKa”) module of Bawat Isa Mahalaga citizen’s movement for godly governance. The TamaKa module is a 2-hour interactive and facilitated voter education session. Its aim is to lead young learners to appreciate the value of voting as their right and responsibility as Filipino citizens, and of democracy as a gift and a stewardship from God as followers of Christ.
We offer to share the TamaKa module for implementation in your setting. A commissioned team of facilitators will train leaders of your ministry to implement the module among your members (young people/ youth leaders/ youth ministers). This is free of charge without any obligation on your part.
For your reference, please find attached:
1. concept brief for the TamaKa voter registration module
2. some photos of TamaKa workshops for different churches and religious organizations
May we hear from you: kindly read and then fill up this sign-up form to signify your interest in this offer–
The Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc. (PMPI) raises grave concern to the proposed 174-hectare reclamation project and construction of the “Smart City” in Dumaguete City. The P23-billion Private-Public Partnership (PPP) project between E.M. Cuerpo Inc. and Dumaguete City Government is questionable at best, and catastrophic at worst.
The establishment of the “Smart City” mainly for profit-generation to the detriment of Dumaguete City’s marine biodiversity and which can lead to increased vulnerabilities to disasters, is not a smart move at all.
The evident disregard for nature masked as ‘development’ effort shall only add to the deep-seated problems in our environment in the long run. The pending destruction of Dumaguete City’s marine biodiversity, including whale sharks, coral reefs, and seagrasses, as well as alteration of its coasts is also a natural, man-made, food security, health, and waste management disaster in the making.
Reclamation activities disrupting the balance of marine ecosystems exacerbates impacts of climate change and weakening the city’s natural defense against it.
Displacement of sea creatures will adversely impact the natural food supply chain as well as their increased exposure to marine viruses that could give rise to potential zoonotic diseases, the same nature as the COVID-19.
Negative socio-cultural impacts are also in line as local communities are displaced along with their home environment and livelihood that depends on it. Additionally, increase in urban population and consumption also means increase in wastes and pollution.
To aggravate the situation at hand, just below the tip of the iceberg nestles a governance and sovereignty issue. The company E.M. Cuerpo Inc. is reported to have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a Chinese, non-SEC registered entity Poly Changda Overseas Engineering Co., granting the latter to be a sub-contractor of the reclamation for the so-called Smart City. A confidentiality clause was also reported to have been agreed upon by both parties, wherein all information should be kept confidential, and any disputes should be resolved in Singapore. Further, the meager Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) of the PPP agreement is yet to elucidate its sketchy provisions citing that the Dumaguete LGU will not be able to have a say on who will own almost half of the reclaimed area [1]. This is a clear manifestation of either a sloppy leadership or a selfish, greedy governance that prioritizes money over the health of the environment and its constituents.
WE CALL THE ATTENTION OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF DUMAGUETE TO RETHINK AND RECONSIDER their decisions over the irreversible damage of the reclamation project not only on the coastal and marine ecosystem of Dumaguete, but from where those materials will be sourced out. The environmentally-conscious people of Dumaguete would not want mountains, hills and rivers in other parts of the country to be desecrated for their comfort.
WE CALL THE ATTENTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES (DENR) to study thoroughly the impacts of this reclamation project and UPHOLD YOUR MISSION in protecting, conserving, and managing the environment and natural resources for the present and future generations.
WE CALL FOR TRANSPARENCY and initiation of real and inclusive public dialogues and consultations to hear what the people on the ground has to say.
WE DEMAND FOR AN ECOLOGICALLY-JUST GOVERNANCE that recognizes the intrinsic value and Rights of Nature, and thus puts forth sustainable and people-centered development over profit generation.
WE REITERATE the SECTION 2 of CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES that the public officials and employees shall at ALL TIMES be ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PEOPLE and shall discharge their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, competence and loyalty, act with patriotism and justice, lead modest lives, and UPHOLD PUBLIC INTEREST OVER PERSONAL INTEREST.”
WE SUPPORT THE CALL of different groups, individuals and the scientific community to hold public consultations in order to make informed and coordinated decisions regarding the outcomes and impacts of the proposed project to the people and environment of Dumaguete City.
LOOK and CONTEMPLATE on environment-friendly and less destructive development projects.
LISTEN and HEAR the voice of your constituents, the scientific communities and experts.
STOP and SCRAP the proposed 174-hectare reclamation project now!
[1] Pal, I. F. (2021, July 19). China firm tapped in Dumaguete reclamation project. INQUIRER.Net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1461167/china-firm-tapped-in-dumaguete-project
Understanding the existing condition on our socio-economic and political situation at the national level is very important to know what we would like to change in making our vote in the coming 2022 elections.
Therefore, we have invited the Executive Director of IBON, Sonny Africa, to share with us the prevailing political and economic realities of the country based on their research and documentation, and how these influence the social, cultural and environmental aspects of our lives.
You are invited to join our Social Action Network in the Webinar on: National Situation – the context of our Vote in the 2022 Elections (NASSA/ Caritas Philippines Good Governance Webinar) on Thursday, 29 July 2021 at 9:30am – 12:00noon (zoom link will be provided to registered participants)
This Webinar is part of the series of CBCP-NASSA/ Caritas Philippines Good Governance webinars aimed at facilitating social consciousness towards establishing principled communities/ society.
For participation, please send the names and contact details of participants (mobile number and/ or email address) to our Good Governance Program Team at cbcp.nassajp@gmail.com or 09053519411 for zoom participation on or before 28 July to facilitate admission. The webinar will also be livestreamed in the NASSA/ Caritas Philippines Facebook Page.
Thank you and hope to hear from you!
CBCP-NASSA/ Caritas Philippines Good Governance Program Team CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action-Justice and Peace
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue through the CBCP is furnishing us with their publication Pro Dialogo Vol. 166 containing documents and reports of activities on interreligious dialogue.
This publication may be useful in deepening our knowledge and in promoting dialogue with believers of different religions and cultures.
Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. (Is 10:1-2)
At this last Sona of President Rodrigo Duterte, we, the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, condemn the oppressive decrees implemented by the Duterte regime including the establishment of the NTF-ELCAC and the passing of the Anti-Terrorism Law that have led to the increased number of extra judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and harassments of people we work closely with, the peasants, fisherfolk and indigenous people.
We say woe to this regime and hold it responsible for the brutal massacre of the 9 Tumandok in Panay, leaving grieving widows and traumatized children, and the leaders in the March bloody Sunday raid, they who dared to stand for their rights to their ancestral land and the right to a life with dignity of rural communities.
We say woe to this regime for the constant red-tagging of peasant and indigenous leaders, often leading to extrajudicial killings or arbitrary arrest based on trumped up charges. We say woe to the regime for its use of dubious search warrants and to the justices who are complicit in this oppression particularly of the rural poor. We say woe to the regime for its attacks on the indigenous peoples, including the Lumads and the forced closure of their schools. We condemn the unfounded cases hurled to harass and unjust imprisonment of some of our members who generously give their time to help educate the Lumad children to enable them to live a dignified life, appreciating their own culture and traditions.
We say woe for the use of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act to freeze our funds, attempting to stifle our service to the rural poor. Likewise, we condemn the freezing of the funds of the UCCP in Haran, again because the church has given shelter and solace to the displaced Lumads, empowering them to demand their right to peace and security in their ancestral lands. We stand with all the peoples organisations, including peasant women, whose funds had been frozen to prevent their organizing, welfare and development work.
We will not be silenced as this Government becomes more and more oppressive, as the poor are made prey to a development aggression which only benefits the rich including those who sit in positions of authority in the country.
At this SONA, we lend our voices to all those calling for an end to Duterte’s tyranny. We demand justice, strong in the assurance that “the wicked will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb…For the Lord loves justice and will never forsake his faithful ones” (Ps 37: 1, 28)
A part of the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, July 23, 2021.
Vatican News 24 July 2021
The United Nations chief says the Olympic spirit “inspires and unifies us in troubled times”.
By Robin Gomes
China on Saturday claimed the first gold medal of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, after the world’s greatest sporting spectacle got off to a sobering start at the National Stadium Friday evening. Yang Qian won the first gold medal, setting an Olympic record in the women’s 10-meter air rifle event.
The Olympics and pandemic
The opening ceremony revealed an uneasy balance between the greatest show in sports and the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic that still continues to plague and toll lives around the world for more than 16 months since its outbreak.
Delayed by a year because of the pandemic, the 32nd Olympic Games is the first time that the sporting event has been postponed in its 124-year history. The inauguration of the July 23 to August 8 games permitted fewer than 1,000 spectators in the stands, among whom were the Japanese Emperor Naruhito and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, both wearing masks.
More than 11,300 athletes from 207 nations are competing in 339 events of 33 sports, all looking to come home with a coveted Olympic medal. There is also a team of refugee athletes competing under the Olympic flag.
Tokyo Archdiocese cancels pastoral programme for athletes due to pandemic
Even before the opening ceremony, a number of infections have emerged in Tokyo involving athletes and other people involved with the Games. Despite the subdued spirit, the Olympics Games mark a coming together of the world, with an audience of hundreds of thousands around the globe expected to tune in together to watch the various events of the sporting spectacle.
The Olympic spirit
The United Nations hailed the athletes and thanked the people of Japan for hosting the games. In a video message, on the occasion of Friday’s opening ceremony, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Olympic spirit brings out humanity’s best: teamwork and solidarity.
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!
As mentioned by CBCP President Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles in his Pastoral Statement dated 4 June 2021, the Holy Father established the annual World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly as “the first-fruits of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year”.
1. To mark the historic launching on 25 July 2021, Pope Francis published a message to grandparents and the elderly. He assures them that “you are needed in order to help build, in fraternity and social friendship, the world of tomorrow: the world in which we, together with our children and grandchildren, will live once the storm has subsided. All of us must “take an active part in renewing and supporting our troubled societies” (Fratelli tutti, 77). Among the pillars that support this new edifice, there are three that you, better than anyone else, can help to set up. Those three pillars are dreams, memory and prayer.” I encourage you to watch or read his uplifting message.
2. Creative (and safe) initiatives can be organized as regional, diocesan, parochial, community celebrations. We especially recommend actual or virtual visits to the elderly, especially the neglected. In fact, the Holy Father has conceded the Plenary Indulgence “on this same day to the faithful who devote adequate time to actually or virtually visiting their elderly brothers and sisters in need or in difficulty (such as the sick, the abandoned, the disabled and other similar cases)”. According to the Decree,
• “The Apostolic Penitentiary… graciously grants the Plenary Indulgence from the heavenly treasures of the Church, under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff) to grandparents, the elderly and all the faithful who, motivated by a true spirit of penance and charity, will participate on 25 July 2021, on the occasion of the First World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, in the solemn celebration that the Most Holy Father Francis will preside over in the Vatican Papal Basilica or at the various functions that will be held throughout the world, who may also apply it as suffrage for the souls in Purgatory.
• “The Plenary Indulgence may also be granted to, provided that they detach themselves from any sins and intend to fulfill the three usual conditions as soon as possible, the elderly sick and all those who, unable to leave their homes for a serious reason, will unite themselves spiritually to the sacred functions of the World Day, offering to the Merciful God their prayers, pains or sufferings of their lives, especially during the transmission, through the means of television and radio, but also through the new means of social communication the words of the Supreme Pontiff and the celebrations.”
3. To complement regional and diocesan programs, the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life has partnered with the Episcopal Commissions on Youth and on Liturgy and with the Catholic Grandparents Association (CGA) of the Philippines to offer a three-day virtual conference from 22 to 24 July 2021. Everyone is invited, especially the elderly and the young. It will be broadcast via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CBCP.ECFL/.
• On Thursday, 22 July, 2:00-3:30 p.m., Mrs. Catherine Wiley, the Founder and International President of the Catholic Grandparents Association, will give a talk on the theme of this year’s celebration, “I am with you always”. After a testimony, the diocesan family and life apostolate/ministry directors and coordinators are encouraged to partner with their CGA and organize opportunities for the faithful, especially grandparents, to share experiences and encouragement. The questions for sharing are these:
o Did the pandemic make it more difficult (or easier) to share your faith with your grandchildren? Share how you overcame the new challenges.
o Who is praying for you every day? For whom are you praying every day? Share some experiences of answered prayers.
• On Friday, 23 July, 2:00-3:00 p.m., we shall hear inspiring testimonies of grandparents who are passing on the Faith to their grandchildren in challenging situations. The session will end with short prayers for healing.
• On Saturday, 24 July, 2:00-3:30 p.m., I will reflect on “The Dignity of the Elderly and Their Mission in Our Society and in the Church” according to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia. The session will also include a testimony.
Finally, we are happy to inform you that our next Amoris Laetitia Family Year event will be in collaboration with the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. The program will be sent to you in the first week of August.
