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Month: May 2023

Old churches to remind faithful of heritage, says Filipino priest

There are 128 churches in the country recognized as National Cultural Treasures, Important Cultural Properties, and National Historical Landmarks

LiCAS News
May 17, 2023

The Nuestra Señora de la Luz Parish church in Loon, Bohol, is seen in this photo date Aug. 24, 2012 by Joel Aldor. (Wikimedia Photo)

A Catholic priest said the Philippine Church continues to value churches and sites in the country that hold significant historical importance.

Father Milan Ted Torralba, executive secretary of the Commission on Cultural Heritage of the bishops’ conference, said efforts of the Church to declare the importance of old buildings are aimed at encouraging people to preserve and appreciate them.

“My personal motivation behind these declarations (as national cultural treasure or important cultural property) for buildings built during the Spanish colonial period is to remind every Filipino that the Church takes the lead in valuing and not forgetting the heritage that continues to benefit the people and the clergy,” said the priest in an interview with Radio Veritas 846.

He made the statement following the declaration of the National Museum of the Philippines of several churches in Bohol as significant treasures in the country.

Recently, the NMP publicly announced the designation of the San Vicente Ferrer Parish in Calape, Bohol, as a “National Cultural Treasure.”

A few days later, the Nuestra Senora del Carmen Parish in Balilihan, Bohol, also received recognition from the NMP as an “Important Cultural Property.”

“In addition to the old churches, we also recognize and value old bridges and watchtowers,” said Father Torralba, who is also the chairperson of the Commission on Cultural Heritage of the Diocese of Tagbilaran and a member of the NMP Panel of Experts.

According to the records of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, there are 128 churches in the country recognized as National Cultural Treasures, Important Cultural Properties, and National Historical Landmarks, with 21 of them located in Bohol.

Pope Francis: Birth rate is a key indicator of a country’s hope

“The birth of children, in fact, is the main indicator for measuring the hope of a people,” Pope Francis said.

Catholic News Agency
May 12, 2023

Pope Francis attends a conference on the Demographic Crisis in Rome, Italy, on May 14, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis said on Friday, May 12, a society’s birth rate is a key indicator of the hope people have in the future.

The pope shared the stage on May 12 with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a two-day conference on “The General State of the Birth Rate,” held at Conciliazione Auditorium close to the Vatican.

“The birth of children, in fact, is the main indicator for measuring the hope of a people,” Pope Francis said. “If few are born it means there is little hope. And this not only has repercussions from an economic and social point of view but also undermines confidence in the future.”

“The General State of the Birth Rate” is a conference for Italian political, business, and organization leaders to reflect on Italy’s demographic crisis, caused by one of the lowest birth rates in Europe: 1.25 births per woman.

The event was organized by the Foundation for Births and the Family Associations Forum and supported by the Italian Ministry for Family, Birth, and Equal Opportunity.

This was the third annual conference and the second time Pope Francis attended. In 2022, he sent a message to be read at the event.

Italy hit a historic low number of births in 2022, with only about 393,000 children born in the country.

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Former vice president Robredo launches book on ‘people’s campaign’ anniversary

The limited edition coffee table book features iconic moments, behind-the-scenes photos, and inside stories from the people’s campaign in 2022

LiCAS News
May 10, 2023

Former vice president Leni Robredo speaks during the launch of the coffee table book titled “Tayo ang Liwanag” on May 9. (Photo supplied)

Former vice president Leni Robredo marked the first anniversary of the “people’s campaign” on Tuesday, May 9, with the launch of her coffee table book titled “Tayo ang Liwanag.”

The limited edition coffee table book features iconic moments, behind-the-scenes photos, and inside stories from the people’s campaign in 2022.

“If I have to go through it all over again, I will. Kasi sa tingin ko, marami tayong na-achieve na on the day I announced my candidacy,” said Robredo who ran for president in last year’s national elections.

“I never thought na ma-aachieve natin,” she said, referring to the “spirit of volunteerism” that her supporters claimed was sparked during the people’s campaign in 2022.

As a beneficiary of the proceeds from the book, the non-government Angat Buhay, through its executive director Raffy Magno, expressed gratitude to individuals who continue to express their support.

“Hope and bayanihan create a virtuous cycle,” said Magno.

“It is the hope of our volunteers, partners, and supporters that continue to push Angat Buhay in its work to help alleviate poverty, which in turn inspires even more Filipinos to volunteer what they have and what they can do,” he added.

‘Hunger rate down, but still above pre-pandemic level ’

Janvic Mateo – The Philippine Star
May 12, 2023 | 12:00am

Results of the March 26 to 29 survey released on Thursday found that 9.8 percent of Filipino families or an estimated 2.7 million experienced involuntary hunger or being hungry and not having anything to eat at least once in the past three months. Michael Varcas, file

MANILA, Philippines — While still above pre-pandemic figures, fewer Filipinos have experienced involuntary hunger in the first quarter of the year, according to a recent survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

Results of the March 26 to 29 survey released on Thursday found that 9.8 percent of Filipino families or an estimated 2.7 million experienced involuntary hunger or being hungry and not having anything to eat at least once in the past three months.

It was down from 11.3 percent (estimated 2.9 million families) and 11.8 percent (estimated three million families) obtained in similar surveys conducted in October and December 2022, respectively.

However, SWS said that it was still higher than the record-low 8.8 percent (estimated 2.1 million families) in December 2019, a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to SWS, the March 2023 hunger rate is composed of 8.6 percent of respondents who said they experienced moderate hunger (down from 9.5 percent in December) and the 1.2 percent who experienced severe hunger (down from 2.3 percent).

Moderate hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months, while severe hunger refers to those who experienced it “often” or “always” in the last three months.

The survey showed that involuntary hunger fell across all areas.

Involuntary hunger was highest among those in Mindanao at 11.7 percent (from 12.7 percent), followed by Metro Manila at 10.7 percent (from 11.7 percent), Visayas at 9.7 percent (from 12 percent) and the rest of Luzon at 8.7 percent (from 11.3 percent).

Based on the survey, some 15.4 percent of those who rated their families as “poor” experienced hunger in the past three months, barely moving from 15.7 percent in December. But it sharply fell among “non-poor,” composed of those who rated themselves as “not poor” and “borderline poor” (from 7.8 percent to 3.9 percent).

Involuntary hunger rose slightly among self-rated “food-poor” (from 17.7 percent to 18.5 percent), while it fell sharply among “non-food-poor,” or those who rated themselves as “not food-poor” and “borderline food-poor” (from 11.8 percent to 4.3 percent).

The recent survey found that 51 percent of the respondents rated their families as “poor,” 30 percent as “borderline poor” and 19 percent as “not poor.”

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INVITATION: 5.18.2023 Laudato Si’ Film Online Facilitators’ Training

May 9, 2023

Dear Laudato Si’ Movement Pilipinas Partner,

Easter greetings from the Laudato Si’ Movement Pilipinas and Partner Organizations.

Laudato Si’ Week began in 2016 as a way to celebrate the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ world-changing papal encyclical letter, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.”

Since then, the annual celebration has become a way for us Catholics to unite and rejoice in the progress we’ve made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life and to further commit ourselves to prayers and actions for our common home.

This year, we will be celebrating Laudato Si’ Week on May 21-28 with the theme “Hope for the Earth, Hope for Humanity”. The Laudato Si’ film “The Letter” which tells the story of four social poets affected first-hand by the climate crisis who traveled to Rome to meet Pope Francis will be the main resource guiding the week’s events. Laudato Si’ Movement is enjoining dioceses, parishes, religious congregations, schools and other institutions, as well as organizations and groups all over the world to organize community screenings of “The Letter” in their respective areas.

For this reason, we would like to invite you to another Online Facilitators Training for Community Screening on Thursday, May 18 from 4PM – 5:30PM. We will be accompanied by the international team of Laudato Si’ Movement. Please click below to receive the link to the online training:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvfuitrzgvHtYIGHn4n-AvY_xI54BjKajV

We are happy to inform you that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has endorsed the community screening of the Laudato Si’ film “The Letter”.

Please find attached copy of the CBCP endorsement. Thanking you, as always, for your continued support in advancing the call to bring Laudato Si’ to life.

One with you in hope for the Planet and Humanity,