Month: April 2023

Crossing the Line
Rev. Fr. Shay Cullen, S.S.C.M.E.
Published: April 26, 2023 03:37 AM GMT

Priests and religious are bound to obey their conscience and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth

The latest and most shocking investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests has been released in the United States. Hundreds of victims in the Archdiocese of Baltimore have come forward to report their suffering and Archbishop William E. Lori has issued a statement of apology.

The report released on April 5 by Maryland Attorney-General Anthony Brown revealed 156 priests abused more than 600 children since the 1940s through 2002 “while the archdiocese leadership looked the other way.”

“Time and again, members of the Church’s hierarchy resolutely refused to acknowledge allegations of child sexual abuse for as long as possible,” the report said.

The situation in Asian Churches today is not different from what is acknowledged in the Baltimore archdiocese.

In the US, Attorney-General Brown set up a website and a call center to get victims to come forward and hundreds did. However, no such historical research or investigation has ever been done in Asia, particularly the Philippines, by the Church to reach out to the victims and bring clerical sex abusers to account and justice.

There appears to be no change in the policy of the Philippine Church, as Cardinal Archbishop Antonio Tagle told the BBC some years ago that child sexual abuse in the Church is a private internal matter.

“The victims get no therapy, no help, no Good Samaritan to heal and help them”

But there is a big change in the Philippine judiciary. Some priests accused of child abuse are facing the court process even if their alleged crimes were covered up by some bishops.

A Catholic priest accused of multiple rape and sexual assault crimes against a 15-year-old church volunteer is facing justice in Cagayan province. Father Karole Reward Israel is in jail, with no bail.

Father Conrad Mantac was arrested in Saga City in March this year for the alleged rape of a 17-year-old choir member.

A Negros Occidental priest Father Aron Buenacosat was arrested and charged with the alleged rape of a child, only four years old, in February.

We see hope in the Philippine judiciary that is acting on Christian convictions and principles and is more determined to bring healing through justice for the child victims. Hopeful, the clerics and bishops will hand over the pedophile priests to be held accountable and not hide them away in retreat houses and therapy shelters in the false hope of curing them.

The victims get no therapy, no help, no Good Samaritan to heal and help them.

Therapy shelters for pedophiles to avoid justice and accountability will never work nor cure them. The Philippine law is clear — to molest a child 16 years or younger is statutory rape.

Pedophilia is like an addiction, the abuser just has to abuse children to satisfy his sexual desires and urges. Bishops who hide priests away in a shelter are protecting pedophiles and denying justice to the victims. That is a crime in itself, for it amounts to aiding and abetting a criminal.

The children victimized have cried in silence and suffered all their lives with the stigma and pain of having been raped and abused without help or justice. Fear and intimidation prevent children or their parents from reporting clerical child abuse.

Clerical abusers have powerful friends that can pressure judges and prosecutors but the judiciary must stand strong and do justice according to the law.

“One protective bishop called a child abuser priest ‘his son'”

More recently, the prosecutors are petitioning the judges to refer vulnerable children to protective homes where they are healed and empowered.

There are about 10,000 priests in the Philippines for a population of 110 million, many of them Catholics. I’ve never heard in my 53 years here of a priest reporting child abuse by a fellow priest.

One protective bishop called a child abuser priest “his son.”

Pope Francis called them otherwise. “Often, behind their boundless amiability, impeccably activity, and angelic faces, they shamelessly conceal a vicious wolf ready to devour innocent souls,” he said in his Christmas message.

Faith in Jesus of Nazareth is not so much in dogmas, rites, and rituals. It is acting on the belief that goodness, truth and love of neighbor will overcome evil.

How heinous it is when the abuse is done by a cleric who is supposed to represent the values of Jesus of Nazareth but instead betrays them.

This is the challenge facing the People of God: to be a person of integrity, have true faith in standing against evil, and help our neighbor as did the Good Samaritan.

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Archbishop-elect Julius Tonel of Zamboanga pledges to promote dialogue between Christians and Muslims in Mindanao

By UCA News reporter
Published: April 26, 2023 11:43 AM GMT

The newly appointed archbishop of Zamboanga in the conflict-ridden Mindanao region in the Philippines vowed to promote dialogue between Christians and Muslims for peace.

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Julius Tonel of Ipil Diocese as the new archbishop of Zamboanga Archdiocese in the Muslim-majority Mindanao region on April 25.

Following his new appointment, Archbishop-elect Tonel said one of his priorities will be to eliminate Christian bias against Muslims that all Muslims are terrorists or members of jihadist groups.

“There are some continuing biases against Muslims. Even by our political leaders in society, thus we must form them, we must equip them… so that there could be true dialogue by eliminating biases in the pursuit of peace,” Tonel, 67, told UCA News.

The prelate said he is a bit nervous to take up the new position in Zamboanga, but he is determined to continue his advocacy for peace.

“It makes me afraid because my responsibility is now bigger. Zamboanga has faced many challenges as archdiocese both from terrorist attacks and Christian biases against Muslims,” he added.

Tonel was born in Davao City on Aug. 31, 1956. He was ordained a priest in Davao on April 12, 1980.

He studied liturgical theology at the Pontifical Saint Anselm Athenaeum in Rome (1986-1990). He was appointed bishop of Ipil on June 30, 2007, and was consecrated on Aug. 20.

He is the chairman of the Healthcare Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Local Christian and Muslim leaders have welcomed the appointment of the new archbishop saying that he is no stranger to the region and the challenges it faces.

“He is a pastor that does not easily judge. He listens and a person who listens is a good facilitator of peace in Mindanao region,” Zamboanga Catholic Francesca Ruizalo, 61, told UCA News.

Ruizalo said the new archbishop is loved by Catholics due to his ability to settle conflicts not only among Christians and Muslims but among Catholics as well.

“He is an administrator who has an eye and sensitivity on delicate issues. He studies history and the background of the parties involved, which made him sympathize very well… when he speaks, his listeners would easily know he did his homework by background checking.” Ruizalo added.

In 2021, Tonel was a key figure in the interreligious dialogue for peace in Sulu province after the extremist bombings that killed 14 people and wounded 75 others.

On Aug. 24, 2020, terrorist group Abu Sayyaf detonated two bombs near the Philippine army carrying out Covid relief efforts. Another suicide bomb attack targeted a cathedral.

Tonel condemned the terrorist acts yet insisted that Catholic parishes should serve as venues of peace where the Catholic Church’s teachings could be taught to all.

In 2002, Muslim extremists launched a series of attacks in the province that killed 11 people and wounded 80 others.

An Abu Sayyaf bomb maker was also arrested in the same province in February 2023 with explosives and other bomb-making materials.

Muslim imam Osman Balba said the new archbishop is a popular figure in the Muslim community for his remarkable contribution to the consultation committee of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) 2018, which created Mindanao as an autonomous region.

“Bishop Tonel was not only supportive of the bill (before it was passed). He was also critical of it. There were revisions and he facilitated the consultation process among Muslim families in his diocese,” Balba told UCA News.

Before the law was passed, Tonel, together with other Mindanao prelates, promised to improve Catholic education by teaching a “more inclusive history” that traces the relationships of Muslim and Christian people.

Mindanao region has endured deadly conflicts for decades between Islamic extremists and the military that left thousands killed.

The main insurgent outfit, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) battled for greater autonomy until BOL was passed in 2018 and the group disarmed thousands of fighters.

However, many of its fighters refused to lay down arms and joined other extremist outfits active in the region such as the Abu Sayyaf group, which pledges allegiance to the transnational terrorist outfit, Islamic State. 

Widespread poverty has long been blamed for breeding extremism in a region known as the breadbasket of the country for its promising agriculture sector and natural resources.

About 26.1 percent of the region’s estimated 24 million people were in extreme poverty in 2021, the highest in the country, according to the Philippine Information Agency.

By Peter Pinedo
Washington D.C., Apr 7, 2023 / 14:00 pm

“The true Church is at the peripheries,” Pope Francis says in Disney’s new documentary “The Pope: Answers,” which was released April 5.

Directed by Spanish filmmaker Jordi Évole and available exclusively on Hulu in the U.S. The one hour and 23 minute-long documentary shares a conversation between the pope and 10 young people from around the world.

Filmed in a poor, working-class neighborhood in Rome, the documentary is entirely in Spanish but accessible to English audiences through subtitles.

Throughout the film, Francis maintains that the Church cannot allow itself to become “a club of nice people,” that is a group of people “who do their religious duties but lack the courage to get out to the ‘suburbs.’”

Using the term “suburbs” to describe those on the peripheries of the Church and faith, Francis shared his belief that it is the Church’s job to go out to those people at the very edges.

“We all like to be comfortable,” said Francis, but that desire for comfort can lead priests to forget they are the shepherd of a flock.

“If you want to see reality, go to the ‘suburbs,’” said Francis, “To find out what social injustice is, go to the ‘suburbs.’”

Among the group of 20- to 25-year-olds were Catholics, Protestants, atheists, agnostics, and one Muslim. Each has a unique problem with either the Church or God. They question the pope on some of the Church’s most controversial teachings and difficult problems.

Throughout the film the pope listens to the young people calmly, responding gently and retaining a smile even as some of his answers evoke anger and indignation.

They discuss immigration, depression, abortion, clergy sexual and psychological abuse, transgenderism, pornography, and loss of faith.

Here’s a taste of the conversation on these hot-button issues facing the Church and the world.

Women in the Church

One young woman, Milagros, from Argentina, describes herself as a feminist and asks why the Church objects to having women priests or even a woman pope.

“Therein lies a theological problem,” answers Francis. “Women have a function within the Church because the Church itself is female … The Church is a wife, Christ’s wife. It is not his husband. Christ is the husband. That is our faith.”

A few young women smirk, but the pope goes on, saying, “There are two constituting streams within the Church. Two principles. So, the ministry is for men. On the maternal side, which is far more important, are women. The promotion of women is aligned with their own vocation as women … otherwise, women would be diminished.”

The dignity of life

Milagros also objects to the pope’s description of abortion as “hiring a hitman” and argues that abortion is a woman’s right.

“I think Jesus would walk with that woman. He wouldn’t judge her like they would during Mass at a church,” Milagros says.

With tears welling up in her eyes, Milagros hands the pope a green bandana with the words “Keep abortion legal, safe, free” written in Spanish. She shared that she would keep that bandana in her backpack as a symbol and wanted to give it to him “lovingly and respectfully.” The pope accepted the gift with a smile, kissing Milagros on the cheek.

Though he agrees that the Church should never condemn a woman for having an abortion, Francis stands firm in his position that abortion kills an innocent child.

“Any embryology book shows us that a month after conception, the DNA is aligned, and all the organs are drawn. It is therefore not just a bunch of cells put together, but a systematized human life. So, the question that should be submitted when talking about the morality of this is; ‘Is it valid to eliminate a human life to solve a problem?’”

His response sets off a debate among the young women in the room in which many insist abortion must be kept legal to protect women, while one lone girl, Maria, from Spain, disagrees, asking Milagros; “You are surrounded by women who have had abortions. Don’t you see the suffering abortion causes?”

Throughout the exchange, the pope listens attentively and waits until the conversation has settled to give his thoughts.

“A woman who has an abortion cannot be left alone, we should stay with her,” Francis says, “We should stay by her side. But we should call a spade a spade. Staying by her side is one thing, but justifying the act is something else.”

Child sexual abuse

Tearing up, one young man in the group by the name Juan, from Spain, shares that when he was 11 and 12, he was sexually abused by a teacher at a Catholic school in Spain.

“There is so much hypocrisy [in the Church],” Juan says through tears. “What about pederasty in the Church?”

“It’s usually said that lives should be protected, there’s a right to live … But then, when it comes to other aspects … many people from within the Church reject the victims or stand on the perpetrator’s side,” says Juan. “You must be aware that there are many priests and bishops below you who are bad people.”

Francis responds, saying; “There are men and women who destroy. The abuser destroys a child, and if it’s a church person, the hypocrisy and double life are horrific.”

“I can’t possibly convey the empathy I feel for a person who has been abused, but it pains me deeply,” Francis says. “We’ve been clear about this, we’ve disciplined the seminaries, we’ve punished the abusing priests or even the abusing laypeople.”

“It’s a serious social problem,” the pope says. “We’re beginning to raise social awareness. That is key.”

Sex and pornography

Another, Alejandra, from Colombia, challenges the Church’s position on pornography. She shares that to earn a living she creates pornographic content on a social media site, asserting that it is the best job she has had because it allows her to stay home to care for her daughter.

The pope responds by reminding the young woman of the obligation to use social media responsibly.

“There should be a distinction between the richness of social media and the morality of what you do … The morality of social media depends on what you use it for,” the pope says. “Pornography diminishes, it doesn’t help you grow. Those who use pornography are diminished in human terms.”

Francis adds that he believes sex is often greatly misunderstood, even in Christian circles.

“I think we Christians haven’t always had a mature catechism regarding sex,” he says. Responding to the group’s discussion of pornography and masturbation, Francis says that neither are true expressions of the fullness of human sexuality.

“Sex is one of the beautiful things God gave human beings. To express oneself sexually is something rich. Anything that diminishes a true sexual expression, diminishes you as well, it renders you partial, and it diminishes that richness,” says the pope.

Gender ideology

Another member of the group, Celia, from Spain, describes herself as non-binary, asking the pope if he knew what that meant. He responds that he understands.

“I’m non-binary, and I’m a Christian,” Celia continues. “I’ve been meaning to ask you if you see some space inside the Church for trans people, non-binary people, or LGBT people in general.”

The pope responds firmly with a smile, “Every person is a child of God, everyone,” adding, “I don’t have the right to kick anybody out of the Church. My duty is to always welcome.”

Reaching the peripheries

Celia pushes further, asking what the pope’s opinion is on “church people or priests” who use the bible to promote what she described as “hate speech.”

Reaffirming his stance that the Church exists on the peripheries, the pope answers that every person is welcome in the Church and that those who use the faith as a justification for hate are “infiltrators.”

“In general, those who judge are inconsistent. There’s something within them, they feel liberated by judging others, when they should look inside at their own guilt,” says Francis. “But the day the Church loses its universality – the blind, the deaf, the good, the bad, everybody – it will stop being a Church.”

Peter Pinedo is a DC Correspondent for CNA. A graduate of Franciscan University, Peter previously worked for Texas Right to Life. He is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Bulatlat Contributors  April 2, 2023  0 Comment  Balik-Tanaw

FR. ARIS MIRANDA, MI
Mt 21:1-11
Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
Phil 2:6-11
Mt 26:14—27:66

Since last week, while following the news at home through social media channels, you won’t miss updates from the PITX, NAIA, North Harbor piers, and other terminals. Long holy days are coming. It’s Holy Week, a moment of reflection, getting together, family and friends bonding moment, a break from hectic days, or a celebration from heydays. Wherever we are, I assume that we pray and reflect on these days apart from gallivanting and jubilating. Prayer and reflection are well-embedded in our spiritual life and culture. This is why we are trying to find time, even for a few minutes or hours or days, because we want to go through the core of our being – our connection to self, to the ONE powerful than us, and to others. But how do we make it meaningful and fruitful for me, for others, and for nature, our common home? Why do we need to do it?

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week and the celebration of the Paschal Triduum of passion (Holy Thursday), death (Good Friday), and the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Easter Sunday). It begins with the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem, greeted by the people waving palm branches as a sign of welcoming and committing their lives to His proposal (the Beatitudes) of serving the people unconditionally, even at the expense of sacrifices and death as Jesus himself confronted and experienced in witnessing the mercy (hesed) of God to the most vulnerable.

Now is the opportune time to ask ourselves: Am I a disciple of Christ? Like the apostles, when Jesus revealed the plot against him, everyone turned to themselves, asking – “Am I the one …? Surely it is not I!”

In today’s Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, we reflect on the gospel of Matthew, addressing the Jews who had been educated in the catechesis of the rabbis to wait for a victorious, dominating, great, and powerful messiah. However, they were shocked and disillusioned. “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Mt 27:40). They were shocked by a defeated Messiah. But Matthew responds: the Old Testament’s prophecies announce a humiliated, persecuted Messiah that would be put to death. They present him as the companion of every suffering and oppressed person. He transformed his defeat into victory, his death into birth; his tomb into a womb from which he was taken to a life without end. God has made it known that he does not overcome evil by hindering it with miraculous intervention but by taking away its power to harm, even making it a time of growth for humans to learn how to confront, resist and fight evil in our times. Being and journeying with the oppressed is the way to overcome the evil in our society today and proclaim the victory of God’s Kingdom, where peace based on justice truly reigns.

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By Ritche T. Salgado, O.Carm
March 31, 2023
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Sicut Christus Vivit. (As Christ Lives)

This is the motto that has guided Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos in Negros Island.

Despite this Christian mindset, he faces challenges and receives criticisms for championing the marginalized and speaking out on issues affecting them.

For example, Bishop Alminaza was red-tagged in February 22 by former government officials Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz in their program “Laban Kasama ang Bayan” that airs on SMNI News Channel.

SMNI is owned by one of the FBI’s most wanted, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. According to the FBI’s website, he is wanted for “conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling.”

He is also a known ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

On March 1, Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales, spokesperson of the Legal Cooperation Cluster of the Western Visayas Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF6-ELCAC), was quoted in posters spread by the 303rd Infantry Brigade, echoing Badoy and Celiz’s red-tagging of Bishop Alminaza.

Amid the government’s red-tagging, Bishop Alminaza continues to earn the support of human rights groups and religious communities locally and internationally.

Peter Murphy, the chairperson of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, said in a statement, “ICHRP supports the work of Bishop Alminaza and shares his conviction that pursuing peace should not be one-sided, militarized or highly politicized.”

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform, an ecumenical church group, pointed out that “(w)hat Badoy, Celiz, and Gonzales are doing is putting the life of Bp. Alminaza in danger. Being red-tagged can lead to more serious human rights violations.” They expressed support for Bishop Alminaza who is also a spokesperson of the group Pilgrims for Peace. “We are one with him in his call for the resumption of the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), and his appeal to free the political prisoners, including former priest Frank Fernandez.”

The statement was signed by Archbishop-Emeritus Antonio J. Ledesma, Rt. Revd. Rex B. Reyes Jr., Bishop Deogracias S. Iñiguez Jr., and Sr. Mary John Mananzan.

Recently, Bulatlat interviewed Bishop Alminaza and he shared his thoughts on red-tagging and his mission as the shepherd of one of the country’s most militarized dioceses.

Please tell us about your motto and how this defines the way you shepherd your diocese.

“Sicut Christus vivit” is my motto. “As Christ lives” in English. Taken from 1 John 2:6 – “He who says he abides in Christ ought to live as He lived.” But instead of using the past tense, “as He lived” I use the present tense, “as Christ lives” to signify that our basis or standard for deciding or acting is not just what Jesus Christ did in the past but as He – present in the midst of people who love each other or who are united in His name (cf. Mt 18:20) – would do it. This makes me favor a more participatory approach, taking time to consult, listen, and dialogue with our collaborators, with our people, especially those not often heard, in the margins, disadvantaged, oppressed, or persecuted. We value the perspectives, voices and contributions of each one, even those who disagree with us. Our ideal is to strive to make unity the point of departure and arrival of our every action or program. Today we call it synodality and its challenge to “enlarge the space of our tent” (cf. Is 54:2), that is, to be more inclusive.

Is this your first time to be red-tagged? Were there other instances?

I got an unverified confidential report before that the Armed Forces of the Philippines has included my name in its “order of battle.” But I consider this the first time that I am publicly linked with the CPP-NPA, and labeled as “demonic and diabolical.”

How did red-tagging affect your mission in the diocese? How did it affect your diocese, your priests, and pastoral workers?

For now, I did not allow it to affect my mission in the diocese. I continue to do what I need to do. It even inspires me to do even more. It even called the attention and awareness of a greater number of people both here and abroad. I and our diocese received more expressions of support which highlighted and even clarified further our mission and our various advocacies. I am particularly touched by the courageous support of my brother bishops, our priests and pastoral workers, and cause-oriented and ecumenical groups and movements.

What do you think is the danger of being red-tagged?

Based on what happened to others who have been red-tagged and got killed in the past, I am aware that it can also happen to me. But I am clear with my motivation and conviction. I am fully aware of what happened to Christ and the cost of following Him. Sicut Christus vivit!

Why do you engage yourself with social issues? Why do you take a stand?

Any Christian disciple worthy of that name cannot do otherwise. Vatican II in Gaudium et Spes, no. 1 is clear: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.”

“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation”(Justice in the World, Synod of Bishops 1971, #6)

PCPII calls for renewed and integral evangelization which includes both proclaiming the message of salvation and liberation.

Our source and motive for action are not from outside of us but from inside of us. It springs from our baptismal identity, reaffirmed and strengthened in confirmation and in my case, from a personal commitment to follow the Lord as His disciples expressed when I embraced the Sacred Orders as deacon, priest, and bishop.

No one and nothing can stop us from fulfilling that solemn promise!

How is the economic and political situation of the people in your diocese? As a church, how can we help in addressing their most basic needs?

Much of the feudal system is still embedded in the hacienda system. At the heart of our social problem in Negros is related to land for its ownership is only in the hands of a few families. The ones who hold political power are possessing economic power and vice versa. We have our own share of political dynasty. I don’t think we have a fair playing field in the exercise of our democratic processes. Land rights are very much linked with human rights!

The recent brutal and violent murder of Governor Roel Degamo, which killed eight innocent victims and wounded others right in his own residence, and the various issues that were brought to public attention in the succeeding investigation only confirmed what we have repeatedly espoused in our crusade and which Fr. Niall O’Brien, a Columban Missionary in Negros for 20 years, expressed it so well: “Violence has a source, and that source is injustice. Violence is the fruit of the tree of injustice and hatred is its evil flower. If we sow seeds of injustice, we reap violence. If we want to remove violence, we must first remove injustice.”

In a news article published by the Manila Bulletin on November 15, 2022, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla was reported to have told the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that there is no culture of impunity in the Philippines. His exact words: “We will dispel the mistaken notion that there is a ‘culture of impunity’ in our country. We will not tolerate the denial of justice nor any violation of human rights.”

Yet in less than four months, he described the situation in Negros Oriental after the assassination of Gov. Roel Degamo and other killings in the province as a “seeming failure to bring culprits to punishment.” He was quoted by CNN Philippines on March 9, 2023 to have said, “What comes out is a pattern, a pattern of impunity that we did not sense before.… But now that this happened, the stories are beginning to make sense that there was a pattern of impunity within the area.”

It has now surfaced that political dynasties have private armies composed mainly of former army soldiers who were dishonorably discharged. There are indeed extra-judicial killings and they are related to illegal drugs and illegal gambling.

The Church is for integral development, integral peace. “We cannot continue the fake model of peace that is one-sided—using pseudo development, that is militarized and highly politicized. We all want a peace that is integral and inclusive, benefitting the common good—that uplifts the poor and promotes authentic development.”

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