Year: 2021

CIRCULAR 21-54

01 December 2021

Your Eminences, Excellencies and Reverend Administrators:

RE: December 8 National Consecration to the Immaculate Conception of Mary and St. Joseph

December 8, 2021 is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and also the closing of the Year of Saint Joseph.

In an earlier circular issued last 8 November 2021, we already mentioned that on the said day, His Excellency Most Rev. Pablo Virgilio S. David, Bishop of Kalookan and who by that time will be the CBCP President, will lead the praying of the Holy Rosary and the Act of Consecration of Families to St. Joseph at the Cathedral of San Roque in the Diocese of Kalookan at 11:00a.m. He will be joined by some representatives of families in his diocese. This event will be livestreamed by CBCP News, Dominus Est, Radio Veritas, TV Maria Philippines and cross-posted in various Catholic Social Media platforms all over the country.

Since it is a Holy Day of Obligation and an important Feast of Our Lady, all the archbishops and bishops of the country are kindly reminded and requested to participate in this event together with the clergy, religious, lay men and women, and all families at their homes. It is also suggested by the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy that after the Post-Communion Prayer of the Mass, the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Conception be prayed first followed by the Act of Consecration of Families to St. Joseph.

Please find attached links to the following prayers:

1. ACT-OF-CONSECRATION-AND-ENTRUSTMENT-TO-THE-IMMACULATE-CONCEPTION in English and Filipino
2. ACT OF CONSECRATION OF FAMILIES TO ST. JOSEPH in English and also translated in various dialects.

Let us, as one nation, earnestly pray for the continued protection of our Blessed Mother Mary and seek the assistance of our dear father St. Joseph, as we continue to face together the effects of the global pandemic.

With every best wish, I remain Sincerely in the Lord,

30 November 2021

Press Statement

Militarized government behind widespread human rights violations: upholding civilian governance and respect for democratic rights essential in addressing roots of the GRP-NDFP armed conflict

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

– Matthew 5:9-

Last week’s meeting between military leadership and presidential hopeful VP Leni Robredo caused quite a stir with VP Leni appearing to walk-back her campaign commitment to abolish the National Task Force-End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).  In a bid to win-over military leaders, VP Leni expressed her support to ending the communist insurgency in the Philippines through the so-called “Whole of Nation Approach.”  As peace advocates, we urge VP Leni to engage dialogues and study further how to address the roots of the armed conflict in the country.

Executive Order 70, which created the NTF-ELCAC, is a militarist construct to further embed and ca-pacitate military leadership and maneuvering of the civilian government. The onslaught of human rights violations like Red-tagging, harassment, fabricated charges and arrests, extra-judicial killings, and forced and fake surrenders are a natural outgrowth of placing militarist war-hawks at the helm of governance. Their tentacles into essentially every department of government have severely restricted democratic space, while inversely encouraging the commission of unbridled violations of human rights with impunity as well as fostering the questionable and unchecked use of funds for supposed intelli-gence/“peace and development” operations throughout the country.

The unraveling of the peace process under the Duterte administration has resulted in more violence on the ground even as the roots of the armed conflict—poverty, landlessness, inaccessibility to services and inequitable distribution of resources—continue to worsen in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.  We appreciate VP Leni’s desire to bring relief and development in real and tangible ways, especially in far-flung and under-served communities; however, militarizing “peace (and development)” is an out-and-out oxymoron. Whenever those who are exploited, marginalized and underserved are further oppressed through militarization and threats of violations of their democratic and political rights, they may seem to be silenced or assuaged by infusions of funds through the military or local government unit, but historically, the most oppressed are only further compelled to resistance. 

By CBCP News
November 23, 2021
Manila, Philippines

With the election season beginning to heat up, a top Catholic official urged the electorate to study the track record and platform of candidates.

Cardinal Jose Advincula, the archbishop of Manila, said that voters must look at the integrity before choosing candidates to support in the May 2022 elections.

“We pray that there will be a deep assessment of the programs and platforms of every candidate, as well as their track records,” Advincula said in Radio Veritas.

One thing to do, according to him, is to form “circles of discernment” among lay people to guide them in their choice of political candidates.

He said it is imperative for voters to deeply discern as a community on the characteristics and track record of each candidate.

“It is our call for the people to create their ‘circles of discernment’ so that we can hear and follow the will of God,” Advincula said.

The cardinal also encouraged voters to consider the position of candidates regarding respect for human dignity, common good, social justice, and societal charity.

“We hope that these will be the prevailing considerations of the people in choosing our next leaders,” he said.