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Month: October 2022

Asia’s Catholic bishops open two-week general conference in Thailand’s capital

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, hits the gong to signal the formal opening of the celebrations of FABC’s 50th year in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 22, 2022. FABC

By Jose Torres Jr.
LiCAS.news
October 12, 2022

Asia’s Catholic bishops opened a two-week general conference in Bangkok on Wednesday, October 12, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC).

“The Archdiocese of Bangkok, the Catholic community of Thailand and our friends, extend the warmest welcome to all the delegates of the FABC’s general conference,” read a statement from the organizing body in the Thai capital.

“We proudly and joyously join in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the FABC and pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the success of this historic conference,” it added.

At least 270 Catholic Church leaders and guests will be welcomed by Thailand’s Minister of Culture Itthiphol Kunplome, Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovitvanich, archbishop of Bangkok, and Bishop Joseph Chusak Sirisuth, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand.

“We will start a monumental task of reaffirming, renewing, and revitalizing the Church in Asia,” said Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, convenor of this year’s celebrations, in a statement during the opening ceremonies that were held in Bangkok on August 22.

“We will gather to commemorate, celebrate and chart the direction that we, as Church in Asia, will take on our journey together in the next decades,” said the prelate.

In his message for the occasion, Pope Francis expressed hope that FABC’s general conference will “renew the Churches in Asia in fraternal communion and in missionary zeal for the spread of the Gospel among the richly diverse peoples, cultures and social realities of the vast Asian continent.”

The gathering aims to “reaffirm, renew and revitalize” the Catholic Church in Asia under the theme: Journeying Together As Peoples of Asia, which is inspired by the scripture “then they went another way.”

Italian Catholic news agency Fides reported that some key questions will be asked during the conference, including how the Church in Asia continue to be “Good News” in under “emerging realities.”

“How can the FABC serve and support the bishops and their episcopal conferences in Asia? How can Catholic communities on the continent contribute to a better Asia?” said the report.

The gathering will witness a “multicultural picture” of prayers and hymns that will be sung in Asian languages.

With the usual reflections and group work for the bishops, special events have been planned, such as a “Talk Show with Asia” where believers from all over Asia participate in a videoconference.

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Pope Francis announces decision to extend Synod on Synodality to 2024

The extraordinary consistory of cardinals meets at the Vatican’s Synod Hall, Aug. 29, 2022. VATICAN MEDIA

By Courtney Mares
Catholic News Agency
October 17, 2022

VATICAN— Pope Francis announced on Sunday that the Synod on Synodality will be extended to 2024.

Speaking in his Angelus address on Oct. 16, the pope shared his decision to divide the Synod of Bishops into two sessions that will meet in Rome in October 2023 and October 2024.

Pope Francis explained that he made the decision “in order to have a more relaxed period of discernment.”

“The fruits of the synodal process under way are many, but so that they might come to full maturity, it is necessary not to be in a rush,” Francis said.

“I trust that this decision will promote the understanding of synodality as a constitutive dimension of the Church, and help everyone to live it as the journey of brothers and sisters who proclaim the joy of the Gospel,” he said.

The two sessions of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will take place from Oct. 4 to 29, 2023, and in October 2024, bringing together bishops from across the world to discuss and prepare a document to counsel the pope.

Pope Francis launched the Synod on Synodality in October 2021 as a worldwide undertaking during which Catholics were encouraged to submit feedback to their local dioceses.

The Catholic Church’s massive multi-year synodal process has been divided into stages. The initial diocesan listening phase concluded with the participation of 112 out of 114 of the world’s Catholic bishops’ conferences, according to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

According to a report from the U.S. bishops’ conference, about 700,000 people participated in the diocesan phase of the synod in the U.S. out of 66.8 million Catholics in the country.

The second, continental phase is taking place from September 2022 to March 2023. In this stage, Continental Synodal Assemblies will be convened between January and March of next year.

The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops describes these continental assemblies as a meeting to “reread the journey made and to continue the listening and discernment … proceeding in accord with the socio-cultural specificities of their respective regions.”

An Instrumentum laboris — or DTC (Documento per la Tappa Continentale), as the Synod of Bishops is calling it — will guide the continental phase discussions. The document is expected to be published by the end of this month or early November and is being drafted by the synod’s leadership, advisory committee, and a group of approximately 20 “experts.”

The final, universal phase will begin with the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican in October 2023 and continue in October 2024 on the theme: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission.”

Pope Francis on Vatican II anniversary: ‘May the Church be overcome with joy’

The remains of St. John XXIII on display at a memorial Mass for his feast day held in St. Peter’s Basilica marking the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, which he initiated. SCREEN GRAB FROM VATICAN NEWS

By Hannah Brockhaus
Catholic News Agency
October 12, 2022

VATICAN— On the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to leave behind criticism and anger and to live the faith with joy.

“May the Church be overcome with joy. If she should fail to rejoice, she would deny her very self, for she would forget the love that begot her,” the pope said during Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Oct. 11.

“Yet,” he continued, “how many of us are unable to live the faith with joy, without grumbling and criticizing? A Church in love with Jesus has no time for quarrels, gossip, and disputes. May God free us from being critical and intolerant, harsh, and angry. This is not a matter of style but of love. For those who love, as the Apostle Paul teaches, do everything without murmuring.”

The Mass marked the 60th anniversary of the day the Second Vatican Council was opened by St. John XXIII on Oct. 11, 1962. The council closed on Dec. 8, 1965.

Oct. 11 is also celebrated as St. John XXIII’s feast day in the Catholic Church.

In his homily, Pope Francis encouraged members of the Church to return “to the council’s pure sources of love.”

“Let us rediscover the council’s passion and renew our own passion for the council,” he said. “Immersed in the mystery of the Church, Mother and Bride, let us also say, with St. John XXIII: Gaudet Mater Ecclesia.”

Francis also warned Catholics about the strategy of the devil, who sows weeds of division among the faithful. “Let us not succumb to his flattery, let us not give in to the temptation of polarization,” he urged.

“How many times since the council have Christians gone out of their way to choose a side in the Church, not realizing that they were tearing their Mother’s heart,” the pope said. “How many times have they preferred to be ‘supporters of their own group’ rather than servants of all, progressives and conservatives rather than brothers and sisters, ‘of the right’ or ‘of the left’ rather than of Jesus; standing up as ‘guardians of the truth’ or ‘soloists of novelty,’ rather than recognizing themselves as humble and grateful children of holy Mother Church.”

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Bishop urges gov’t to act more on ancestral land claims

Bishop Valentin Dimoc (right) of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples (ECIP) play the gongs with Bagobo-Klata men during the national celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday at the Upper Sirib in the southern city of Davao’s Calinan district on Oct. 9, 2022. NIKKO BALBEDINA

By Nikko Balbedina
October 11, 2022
Davao City

A Catholic bishop has called on the government to pay more attention to legitimate ancestral land claims by indigenous peoples living in different parts of the country.

Bishop Valentine Dimoc, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples, said ancestral domain issues remain among major challenges that IP communities face until today.

“Many indigenous groups still do not have their CADT (certificate of ancestral domain title) and are still struggling,” Dimoc said.

“And sometimes, there is no NCIP (National Commission on Indigenous Peoples) to help them,” he lamented.

The bishop was speaking during the national celebration of the 45th Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday at the Upper Sirib in the southern Philippine city of Davao’s Calinan district on October 9.

Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao presides over Mass to the celebrate the Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday at the Upper Sirib in the southern city of Davao’s Calinan district on Oct. 9, 2022. NIKKO BALBEDINA

Speaking to the Bagobo-Klata tribe, he told them that they are “blessed” to have an NCIP that cares for them.

“I’m sure that your NCIP here, along with your government, your church and other organizations are biddable, merciful and loving that they worked for and helped you to have your CADT. Sana all,” Dimoc added, using a modern-day Filipino catchphrase.

This year’s IP Sunday national celebration was hosted by the Archdiocese of Davao in partnership with the ECIP.

Various activities were held during the day including dialogues, tree-planting and Mass officiated by Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao and former CBCP president.

The event was also held a day after the “Panagtagbo 2022”, a local celebration of the indigenous peoples’ “culture, faith and of life”.

Pope’s October prayer intention: A Church that walks together

Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for the month of October, in which he asks that the Church be one of synodality, which means walking together, along the same road.

By Francesca Merlo

As is customary at the beginning of every month, Pope Francis has released his prayer intention for the month of October: “A Church that is open to everyone”.

In The Pope Video, produced by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, the Holy Father begins by asking “What does it mean ‘to synod’?”, before answering himself, that it means walking together: syn-od. He explains that in Greek, the word synod means to walk together, and to walk on the same road.

This, continued the Pope, “is what God expects of the Church of the third millennium – that it regain its awareness of being a people on the road and of having to travel together”.

He adds that a Church with this synodal style is one that listens, aware that listening is more than just hearing.

“It means listening to each other in our diversity and opening doors to those outside the Church. It’s not about gathering opinions, nor holding a parliament. The synod isn’t a survey; it’s about listening to the protagonist, the Holy Spirit. It’s about praying. Without prayer, there will be no Synod”, says the Pope.

His two-minute-long video, which shows images of people walking, praying and attending classes together, ends with the Holy Father asking that we “take advantage of this opportunity to be a Church of closeness, which is God’s style –closeness”, as well as asking that we “give thanks to all the people of God who, with their attentive listening, are walking the synodal way”. Finally, the Pope says, “let us pray that the Church, ever faithful to the Gospel and courageous in preaching it, may live in an increasing atmosphere of synodality and be a community of solidarity, fraternity, and welcome”.

Vatican Unveils New Documentary on Climate Change

A new documentary “on humanity’s power to stop the ecological crisis” facing the world is presented at a press conference at the Vatican on Tuesday. The film “The Letter,” says Cardinal Michael Czerny, “is a clarion cry to people everywhere: we have to act together, we have to do it now.”

By Christopher Wells

A new documentary by filmmaker Nicolas Brown “highlights the key concept of dialogue,” Cardinal Michael Czerny explained on Tuesday, at the presentation of the film “The Letter” at the Holy See Press Office.

The film itself is aimed at conveying the messages of Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato si’. Despite the encyclical’s “widespread impact on the global stage” since its publication seven years ago, “the environmental crisis of our common home has worsened drastically,” the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said.

Voices from the peripheries

This led to the DPIHD to collaborate with Brown and his Off The Fence Productions team, as well as the Laudato Si’ Movement and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, to arrange a dialogue between Pope Francis and a variety of voices from “the peripheries”, including an indigenous leader, a climate refugee, a youth activist, and a group of scientists.

These “remarkable leaders,” said Cardinal Czerny, can speak for the often neglected voices of the peripheries, first through their dialogue with Pope Francis, and then by sharing their own stories. “The film and the personal stories powerfully show that the ecological crisis has arrived and is happening now,” the Cardinal said, while warning of the negative effects of climate change that continue to grow.

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Caritas to organize good governance advocates in parishes

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, national director of Caritas Philippines, speaks during the 1st Simbayanihan National Congress in Tagaytay City on Oct. 3, 2022. CARITAS PHILIPPINES

By CBCP News
October 4, 2022
Manila, Philippines

A church-led grassroots movement will organize advocates in parishes across the country who will act as “champions” of good governance and nation-building.

Caritas Philippines announced the plan Monday during the official launching of its “Simbayanihan” movement, a “whole-of-Church” approach to address poverty and corruption.

“So among our next moves is to organize good governance advocates in different dioceses and parishes,” Caritas’ executive secretary Fr. Tony Labiao said. “We have to organize communities.”

“We need to organize the working teams who will lead the engagements for economic empowerment and participation in local governance,” said the priest, who is also the national convenor of Simbayanihan.

The launching was preceded with the first Simbayanihan National Congress at the Caritas Philippines Academy in Tagaytay City, south of Manila.

The whole-day event was attended by representatives from different diocesan social action centers across the country.

The national Caritas said the program also aims to form and support principled politics and politicians and create “critical vigilance” among communities.

Its national director Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said that the previous elections taught them that “we failed in our old strategies” to bring people together to discuss politics and development.

“Simbayanihan was hoped to bridge the gap between faith and justice, by taking part in concrete social action works on ecology, justice and peace, and good governance,” Bagaforo said.

Fr. Rex Paul Arjona, one of the convenors of Simbayanihan, said the movement is focused on linking existing good governance and community development programs through organization and partnership building, training and formation for responsible citizenship, and principled cooperation with government.

Aside from the Caritas network, Agri Partylist, the Quezon City government, and the People Power Volunteers for Reform are also part of the convening groups.

“We always believe in the influence of the church to effect community empowerment and development, which is vital in ensuring that government programs are enforced properly, and maximized fully,” said Agri Partylist Rep. Wilbert Lee.

“We are working with Caritas Philippines and our partners to provide communities with sustainable economic activities so we will be able to help create empowered communities who can exact accountability among local and national politicians, and be more engaged in local governance,” Lee added.

Simbayanihan will be launched at the regional and diocesan levels in the coming months, involving the civil society, government, and private organizations, through the social action clusters and centers.

New Pathways For Synodality

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, at the Manila Cathedral on Sept. 26, 2022. RCAM-AOC

September 27, 2022
Manila, Philippines

MANILA— Here’s the full text of CBCP president Bishop Pablo Virgilio David’s talk at the Manila Cathedral on Sept. 26 during the “Celebrate Asia in Manila” conference in preparation for the 50th general conference of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) in Bangkok, Thailand next month.

I. Our Philippine synodal experience in the light of FABC’s 50th anniversary

The context in which we are reflecting on New Pathways for Synodality for the Church in the Philippines is our Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of FABC.

FABC has been promoting greater synodality in the Church since it began. It has been known mainly for its insistence on DIALOGUE. For us in Asia, FABC emphasizes that synodality has to take the form of a threefold dialogue: one, with the religions of Asia, two, with the cultures of Asia, and three, with the poor of Asia. Perhaps we can begin by replacing Asia with the Philippines and ask ourselves how we have fared in each level of dialogue while reviewing our own synodal experience in the Philippines.

A. On dialogue with religions

Ironically, as regards IRD, our disadvantage has been the fact that we are a predominantly Christian country. (Ironically, I say, because being predominantly Christian is precisely the reason why we have the tendency to be less concerned about dialoguing with other religions.) It is different talking about dialogue in a context in which you are the majority, than in a context in which you are a minority, which is the more common experience in Asia. It is in a minority setting that the advocacy for religious freedom, tolerance and dialogue usually becomes more palpable. It is a common tendency for us Catholics, when we are the majority, to be presumptuous, to throw our weight around, to be intolerant and less open to dialogue. No wonder, our efforts at IRD have remained very insignificant. The other communities of faith are usually surprised when we even bother to reach out to them.

We have Catholics who simply take it for granted that we can just celebrate Masses in public spaces as if these belonged to us. We sometimes just presumptuously occupy the streets and mess up the traffic for our processions often without bothering to coordinate with the LGUs or Barangays about traffic rerouting. Sometimes, this happens precisely because the LGU leaders and Bgy captains are mostly Catholics anyway. They quickly say ok and presume that we will marshall the traffic ourselves, which, of course doesn’t happen when not consciously attended to. It is when government officials happen to belong to other religions or Christian denominations that we often become conscious of the need for dialogue. I call that a self-serving kind of dialogue, dialogue when we are in a position of disadvantage.

Take note, please, I am not necessarily advocating a secularistic kind of society that is intolerant of religious expressions in public spaces. There are countries where all communities of faith are equally given the privilege of using the public space for their festivals, often even with support from the other religions.

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