Prelate launches blistering attack on govt officials over alleged misuse of funds meant to fight pandemic
Joseph Peter CallejaJoseph Peter Calleja, Manila October 22, 2021
Health workers from the government-run Philippine General Hospital hold placards in Manila on Aug. 26 as they ask the government to pay their risk allowances amid rising Covid-19 infections. (Photo: AFP)
A Catholic bishop in the Philippines has called for protests over an alleged 67 billion peso (US$1.3 billion) pandemic scam, saying Catholics should demand that corrupt officials be brought to justice.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas described the country as a battleground between good and evil, adding that Catholics should not sit on the fence.
“There can be no room for neutrality. Between good and evil, there is no middle ground, and whoever is unwilling to condemn blatant injustice becomes its enabler. Whoever will not indict the thief becomes complicit with him,” he said in a strongly worded pastoral letter issued on Oct. 22.
The prelate said he fully backed a call by doctors for transparency, exigency and accountability in the use of government funds used in the pandemic.
Earlier this month, several medical groups in the Philippines claimed billions of pesos that should have gone towards medical supplies and health worker benefits were misappropriated.
They pointed to one instance where a 12 billion peso ($237 million) contract was awarded by the government to a firm called Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation to purchase equipment such as face masks and shields. Critics said the cost of the equipment was overpriced.
We cannot but be appalled by credible reports about dishonesty, graft and malfeasance in scandalous proportions
“Corruption and a total disregard for decency and morality have begun to permeate the Filipino soul. This is not who we are, but this is what we are going to be unless we do something about it now,” the doctors said in a statement.
Archbishop Villegas described the alleged anomalous transactions as “disgusting” if government officials pocketed billions of pesos at the expense of those who died or were infected by the virus.
“We cannot but be appalled by credible reports about dishonesty, graft and malfeasance in scandalous proportions, particularly because these despicable acts exploited the fears of our people occasioned by the Covid pandemic,” Archbishop Villegas added.
Archbishop Villegas said the Filipino people have been fooled by corrupt officials.
“Held in the grip of dread for the disease that has claimed so many lives, our people, already laid low by the economic privation brought about by the pandemic, were hoodwinked by those who exploited the situation for their profit,” he added.
The prelate urged those who allegedly benefited from the corruption to return the money.
Archbishop Villegas also called on clergymen to educate the conscience of all Catholics not to accept corruption as the norm in government transactions. “One of the saddest things that has befallen us is a dreadful national familiarization with graft and corruption that they no longer shock and disturb us,” he said.
Future generations will look back to this day the seventeenth of October 2021 as a historic milestone in the life of the Church. The Holy Father convokes a General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2023. Because the topic is on the process itself of Synodality, he wishes all the local churches to be involved in the two-year preparation for the said event. He will launch it universally on October 10, 2021 and expects every bishop to launch it in every local church around the world on October 17, 2021. The pre-synodal consultations on the diocesan level will lead to parallel event on the national level (episcopal conference), the continental level (regional federations of episcopal conferences) and the global level (General Assembly in Rome). The Pope believes that the path of synodality is the plan of God for the Church of the third millennium. Let us walk together listening. We grow by listening.
A synod is not just an event; it is a journey. A synod is not just a meeting; it is the life of the Church. A synod is not just an assembly in view of administration; it is a convocation guided by the Spirit for the challenge of mission. St. John Chrysostom aptly said that the “Church and synod are synonymous”.
Two Landscapes
What will happen in the next months? We will gather together in small circles in parishes, schools and basic ecclesial communities to pray together and ask the Spirit to lend us His eyes and mind and heart. We will look at two landscapes not with our eyes but with the eyes of the Lord.
The first is “How is our Church within?” The Pope asks us: “How is this journeying together happening today in our local Church? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together”? How are the shepherds and the shepherded? How is the life of worship brought to the life of charity? How is faith lived and shared? How is our Church discipline and life?
The second is “How is the Church together with the entire human family?” Are we still salt and light for the world? Is dialogue our way of life? How willing are we to listen with humility and respect despite differences? Have we become haughty or insensitive to the groans of suffering humanity?
Many Signs
In looking at the Church from the inside and looking at the Church with the entire human family, we cannot ignore the signs of our times. We are not blind to the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has confronted us with. We cannot disregard the sexual and financial scandals in the Church and in government. We cannot overlook the attraction of secularism and materialism and the double-edged power of the digital world. We cannot brush off the erosion of ethical values and the idolatry of relativism. We are aware of the antipathy and disdain against traditional institutions foremost of which is our Church. The effects of ecological abuse, terror and violence are too glaring to overlook.
Pope Francis attends the concluding ceremony of the Prayer for Peace Meeting organized by the Sant’Egidio Community at Rome’s Colosseum, Oct. 7, 2021. VATICAN MEDIA
By Courtney Mares Catholic News Agency October 8, 2021
VATICAN— Pope Francis asked leaders of world religions to resist “the temptation to fundamentalism” for the sake of peace at an interreligious gathering Thursday in front of the Colosseum.
Peace “summons us to serve the truth and declare what is evil when it is evil, without fear or pretense, even and especially when it is committed by those who profess to follow the same creed as us,” the pope said Oct. 7.
“For the sake of peace, please, in every religious tradition let us defuse the temptation to fundamentalism and every tendency to view a brother or sister as an enemy.”
Speaking on a stage together with Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu representatives, Pope Francis appealed for peace amid the world’s current conflicts.
“Dear brothers and sisters, as believers it is our responsibility to help eradicate hatred from human hearts and to condemn every form of violence. Let us unambiguously urge that arms be set aside and military spending reduced, in order to provide for humanitarian needs, and that instruments of death be turned into instruments of life,” the pope commented.
“Fewer arms and more food, less hypocrisy and more transparency, more vaccines distributed fairly and fewer weapons marketed indiscriminately,” he said.
The pope called prayer a source of strength that “disarms hate-filled hearts.”
Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt, also spoke.
The Islamic scholar, who signed the landmark Document on Human Fraternity with Pope Francis in 2019, criticized the uneven distribution of COVID-19 vaccines throughout the world.
He said that “the world has suffered a setback despite the efforts made by religious institutions, their representatives and leadership, to foster a collaborative approach and exchange of goods, giving precedence to the public interest over private interests.”
Pope Francis was speaking at the live-streamed closing ceremony of “Peoples as Brothers, Future Earth. Religions and Cultures in Dialogue,” the 35th event promoted by the Sant’Egidio Community in the “spirit of Assisi,” the interreligious gathering convened in St. Francis’ birthplace by Pope John Paul II in 1986.
In his address, the pope said: “Today, in a globalized society that sensationalizes suffering, yet remains incapable of sympathizing with it, we need to ‘construct compassion’ … We need to listen to others, make their sufferings our own, and look into their faces.”
“We cannot continue to accept wars with the detachment with which we watch the evening news, but rather make an effort to see them through the eyes of the peoples involved,” he said.
Christian leaders at the event included Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians, Karekin II, leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the German Lutheran Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. The event began with a prayer involving the Christian leaders.
Representatives of world religions at the ceremony included Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the Chief Rabbi of Moscow and president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Shoten Minegishi, a Soto Zen Buddhist monk from Japan, Sayyed Abu al-Qasim al-Dibaji, of the World Pan-Islamic Jurisprudence Organization, and Edith Bruck, a Hungarian-born Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor.
Lakshmi Vyas, president of the Hindu Forum of Europe, and Jaswant Singh, a Sikh representative, also attended.
“As representatives of different religious traditions, all of us are called to resist the lure of worldly power, to be the voice of the voiceless, the support of the suffering, advocates of the oppressed and victims of hatred, people discarded by men and women on earth, yet precious in the sight of the One who dwells in heaven,” the pope said.
Pope Francis said that there was a link between the “dream of peace” and the need to care for creation.
“By cultivating a contemplative and non-predatory approach, the religions are called to listen to the groans of mother earth, which suffers violence,” he said.
The pope suggested that “unbridled individualism and the desire for self-sufficiency” had overflowed into “insatiable greed.”
“The earth we inhabit bears the scars of this, while the air we breathe is rich in toxins but poor in solidarity. We have thus poured the pollution of our hearts upon creation,” he said.
At the gathering Sabera Ahmadi, a young woman recently arrived from Afghanistan, read out an appeal for peace.
“The pandemic has shown how human beings are in the same boat, bound by profound threads. The future does not belong to those who squander and exploit, to those who live for themselves and ignore others,” she said.
“The future belongs to women and men who are in solidarity and to peoples who are brothers. May God help us to rebuild the common human family and to respect mother earth. In front of the Colosseum, symbol of greatness but also of suffering, let us reaffirm with the strength of faith that the name of God is peace.”
Also speaking at the event was Angela Merkel, who is due to step down as Germany’s chancellor following federal elections on Sept. 26. She had a private audience with the pope on the morning of Oct. 7.
The 67-year-old, who has led the European Union’s most populous nation since 2005, has been a frequent visitor to the Vatican since Pope Francis’ election in 2013.
The pope described the Lutheran pastor’s daughter as “one of the great figures of world politics” in an interview last month. He has received Merkel in private audience more often than any other head of state.
The two leaders spoke privately for about 45 minutes before exchanging gifts. The pope gave Merkel a small bronze image of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica along with copies of his writings. She gave him three volumes on the Bible and a book about Michelangelo.
In what is expected to be her farewell visit as chancellor, Merkel also met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and “foreign minister” Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
The Holy See press office said that “during the cordial discussions, appreciation was expressed for the good existing bilateral relations and the fruitful collaboration between the Holy See and Germany.”
It added: “The parties then turned their attention to matters of mutual interest in the international and regional spheres, agreeing on the advisability of relaunching cooperation to address the multiple crises underway, with particular reference to the consequences of the health emergency and migration.”
In his address outside of the Colosseum, Pope Francis said: “Yes, let us dream of religions as sisters and peoples as brothers! Sister religions to help peoples be brothers and sisters living in peace, reconciled stewards of creation, our common home.”
“The participation of everyone, guided by the Holy Spirit”
Pope Francis leads a moment of reflection in the Vatican, ahead of the solemn inauguration of the Synod on Sunday with a Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
By Robin Gomes
As the Universal Church is about to embark on the synodal journey, Pope Francis on Saturday invoked the Holy Spirit on the People of God so that they will be able to move forward together, to listen to one another and discern our times, in solidarity with the struggles and aspirations of all humanity.
The Pope prayed as he presided over a moment of reflection in the Vatican’s Synod Hall, on the eve the official inauguration of the diocesan phase of the Synod for all the dioceses around the world, marked by a solemn Mass in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Oct. 10. Dioceses across the world will inaugurate the synodal journey at the local level on Oct. 17.
A special Synod
The theme of the upcoming 16th Synod of Bishops is: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission”. Synodality indicates walking together and listening to one another but above all to the Holy Spirit. To deepen this essential characteristic of the Church, the upcoming synod is unlike any previous one. It starts with, and involves all the faithful at local Churches across the world, promising to listen to all, especially to laypeople. That is why this Synod is a 2-year process, starting from October 10, 2021, to October 2023.
The diocesan listening phase will run until April 2022 and will be followed by a continental phase from September 2022 to March 2023. The final “universal Church phase” will culminate in the traditional assembly of the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican in October 2023.
The protagonist of the Synod – the Spirit
In his discourse at Saturday’s moment of prayer and reflection, Pope Francis dwelt on how the synodality of the Church is achieved, namely, through communion, participation, and mission. He also pointed out the dangers it can run into, as well as the opportunities it offers.
“In the one People of God, therefore, let us journey together, in order to experience a Church that receives and lives this gift of unity, and is open to the voice of the Spirit,” Pope Francis said, stressing that the Synod is an “ecclesial moment”, not a parliament or an investigation into opinions, but “an ecclesial moment” whose protagonist is the Holy Spirit. “Without the Spirit, there is no Synod,” he stressed.
Communion, participation, mission
Explaining the Synod’s three key words – communion, participation, and mission – he said that communion and mission describe the mystery of the Church. Communion expresses the very nature of the Church, according to the Second Vatican Council.
According to Saint Paul VI “communion, that is, cohesion and interior fullness, in grace, truth and collaboration… and mission, that is, apostolic commitment to the world of today”. Saint John Paul II stressed that koinonia gives rise to the Church’s mission of serving as a sign of the human family’s intimate union with God.
For this reason, Pope Francis said, Synods must be well prepared for, especially at the local level with the participation of all.
All are called to participate
He pointed out that ‘communion’ and ‘mission’ can risk remaining somewhat abstract, unless synodality is concretely expressed at every step of the synodal journey and activity, encouraging real involvement on the part of each and all”. “All the baptized are called to take part in the Church’s life and mission.”
He acknowledged the frustration and impatience felt by many pastoral workers, members of diocesan and parish consultative bodies, and women, who frequently remain on the fringes. “Enabling everyone to participate is an essential ecclesial duty!” he stressed, adding, it is an indispensable ecclesial commitment based on the “identity card” of the baptism.
Three risks to avoid
The Pope warned that a Synod can run the risk of being a mere formal external event, instead of being “a process of authentic spiritual discernment that we undertake, not to project a good image of ourselves, but to cooperate more effectively with the work of God in history”. For this, “we need content, means, and structures that can facilitate dialogue and interaction within the People of God, especially between priests and laity”.
He noted that at times there is a type of “elitism” among the clergy that distances them from the laity, which makes them the “lord of the house” and not a shepherd. This, the Pope said, requires changing certain overly vertical, distorted, and partial visions of the Church, the priestly ministry, the role of the laity, ecclesial responsibilities, roles of governance, and so forth.
Another risk that a Synod can run into is becoming intellectual, offering learned but abstract approaches to the problems of the Church and the evils in our world, which are far removed from the reality of the holy People of God and the concrete life of communities around the world.
A third danger that a Synod should avoid, the Pope said, is the temptation to complacency, which says, we have always done it this way” and it is better not to change. The word ‘complacency’ “is a poison in the life of the Church”. People with such an attitude apply old solutions to new problems. The Holy Father stressed that the synodal process should involve the local Churches, in different phases and from the bottom up, in an exciting and engaging effort that can forge a style of communion and participation directed to mission”.
Three opportunities
Pope Francis pointed out that the synodal process of encounter, listening, and reflection help the People of God, the Church, to recognize at least three opportunities. First, it must move not occasionally but structurally towards a synodal Church, where all can feel at home and participate.
Second, the Synod offers us the opportunity to become a listening Church, to break out of our routine in order to stop and listen, firstly to the Spirit in adoration and prayer, and then to our brothers and sisters, their hopes, the crises of faith around the world, the need for renewed pastoral life.
Keeping in mind that God’s style is one of closeness, compassion and tenderness, the Pope said the Synod is also an occasion for the People of God not to be aloof but to become a Church of closeness by her very presence, bandaging wounds and healing broken hearts with the balm of God.
Not another Church but a different Church
For this, the Holy Father said, we need the ever new breath of God, the Spirit, who sets us free from every form of self-absorption, revives what is moribund, loosens shackles, and spreads joy. “There is no need to create another Church, but to create a different Church,” the Pope said citing Dominican priest Father Yves Marie-Joseph Congar. “For a ‘different Church’, the Pope urged all to invoke the Holy Spirit with greater fervour and frequency and humbly listen to Him.
DAY 12 (October 15): Let us again pray for all groups and organizations working for the good of all…
Triune God, help our movements, NGOs, communication centers and all groups that work for the common good, to develop a spirituality of global solidarity which flows from the mystery of who you are, an interconnected community of love.
Society is also enriched by a countless array of organizations which work to promote the common good and to defend the environment, whether natural or urban. Some, for example, show concern for a public place (a building, a fountain, an abandoned monument, a landscape, a square), and strive to protect, restore, improve or beautify it as something belonging to everyone. Around these community actions, relationships develop or are recovered and a new social fabric emerges. Thus, a community can break out of the indifference induced by consumerism. These actions cultivate a shared identity, with a story which can be remembered and handed on. In this way, the world, and the quality of life of the poorest, are cared for, with a sense of solidarity which is at the same time aware that we live in a common home which God has entrusted to us. These community actions, when they express self-giving love, can also become intense spiritual experiences.
We, your Pastors and Bishops, wish to add our voices to that of the entire nation in congratulating Ms. Maria Ressa, for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts “to safeguard freedom of expression.”
Our recent Popes have on occasion highlighted the important role that the press play in gauging the health of a healthy democratic society. It is not a surprise, then, that the Church “find the right esteem for your work and the recognition of the freedom of the press.” (17 January 1988: Teachings XI, 1 [1988], 135).
Today, all over the world, this journalistic work has become more and more difficult because of the level of disinformation and fake news that continue to spread through the means of social communications. The vocation and mission, therefore, of the members of the Press (as envisioned by our Popes) is to contribute not only for the search for truth, but more importantly, to help build a culture of dialogue. (cf. Pope Francis, Message to the Members of the Foreign Press Association in Italy, 18 May 2019).
We are grateful that Ms. Ressa, together with many of the distinguished and dedicated members of the fourth estate, have discerned the signs of the times and have valiantly responded and continue to respond to this particular invitation.
This important recognition – the first for a Filipino – would hopefully strengthen our people’s conviction to build a nation where journalism “is free, at the service of truth, goodness and justice.” (Pontifex Tweet, 03 May 2019).
As Filipinos and Bishops, we commit our continued collaboration in order to uphold these values.
Malacañang Complex J.P. Laurel Street San Miguel, Manila
Subject: Request for Immediate Release of List of Non-Environmentally Acceptable Products and Packaging and Include Single-Use Plastics
Dear President Duterte:
Green greetings! We, the undersigned organizations, are working on lasting solutions to end the plastic pollution crisis in the country. Single-use plastic is a problematic material. It is designed to be used once but lasts for decades in our ecosystems. We can see its effects not just in our coastal communities but in urban areas as well, especially during typhoon season. Our county is drowning in plastic waste. The staggering volume of plastic waste in the country has become unmanageable.
It has been twenty years since the passage of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act or RA 9003. However, implementation still falls short. We therefore note the following to include single-use plastics in the list of Non-Environmentally Acceptable Products and Packaging (NEAPP) as mandated by the Act:
Plastic is not just a waste management issue but a climate and health concern as well. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of plastic is made of fossil fuel, and the entire plastic life cycle – from production to disposal – causes high volumes of greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions massively accelerate climate change. Moreover, plastic breaks down into smaller pieces called micro or nano plastics that find their way into the food chain, the water that we drink and, recent studies show, even the air we breathe. These micro-plastics may cause oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, inflammation, or immune reactions, and cause lesions in the respiratory system.
The plastic pollution crisis worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, it has been reported that the average Filipino uses 591 sachets, 174 shopping bags, and 163 labo bags every year. Nationally, this results in almost 17.5 billion pieces shopping bags and 16.5 billion pieces labo bags every year. From July to December 2020, the country generated 362,000 metric tons of waste. This volume is about four times greater than the 88,000 metric tons of waste generated in 2019.
There is strong clamor for a single-use plastic ban from the Filipino people. In a 2020 Social Weather Survey, it was found that 7 out of 10 Filipinos are in favor of banning single use plastics. Moreover, there are, currently, 488 local governments (including Davao City) that already have ordinances regulating single-use plastics. It is worth noting that these local ordinances have contributed to significant decreases in the volume of plastic waste in local communities. Unfortunately, local ordinances are not enough to address the plastic waste crisis. A national uniformed ban on single use plastics is necessary to ensure plastic waste volume reduction across the country. So far, 95 cities, municipalities and provinces passed resolutions urging the National Solid Waste Management Commission to release the list of NEAPP and include single-use plastic.
Our existing environmental laws are powerful, it is powerful enough to end the plastic crisis. RA 9003 established the National Solid Waste Management Commission under the Office of the President by virtue of Section 4 of the Act. RA 9003 prohibits the use, manufacture, distribution, and importation of Non- Environmentally Acceptable Products and Packaging (NEAPP). Its implementing rules and regulations define NEAPP as “unsafe in production, use, post-consumer use, or that produce or release harmful by-products when discarded.” Clearly, single-use plastic falls within this definition. Section 29 of the law states that within one year from the effectivity “the National Solid Waste Management Commission shall, after public notice and hearing, prepare a list of NEAPP that shall be prohibited according to a schedule that shall be prepared by the Commission.” It has been two decades; the Commission is still to release the NEAPP list. This mandate is long overdue.
