Category: Documents

KARAPATAN Admin
11/14/2022

Geneva, Switzerland – The government tried but miserably failed in convincing the international community that the human rights situation in the Philippines has vastly improved. At the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) fourth cycle of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in this city Monday, many countries expressed concerns about ongoing human rights violations in the country and the Philippine government’s inadequate responses to recommendations made in the last cycle in 2017.

Governments from at least 35 countries called on the Philippines to put a stop on extrajudicial killings and exact accountability on the perpetrators, particularly state security forces, while 38 countries called on the Philippines to protect human rights and indigenous defenders, lawyers and judges, environmentalists, and journalists. This clearly indicates that the world knows the real situation despite lies, empty rhetoric and distortion of facts by the Philippine government delegation.

The Philippine government delegation brought nothing but empty words and vague promises to the review. Its presentation did not reflect realities on the ground.

Geneva_4th_UPR

As documented by the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center, there have been 127 deaths connected with the drug war from July 1 to November 7 this year, mostly by state security forces. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s claim that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to only use force when necessary is either being ignored or is simply a blatant lie. Many countries during the review were justifiably skeptical to government’s claims of success of investigating perpetrators of rights violations when there have been zero final and successful convictions. What are a few investigations and dismissal of policemen in the face of thousands of deaths after all?

“We must hear the poor cry of our planet for common action to save our common home”

Bishop Crispin Varquez of Borongan

November 8, 2022

Beloved Clergy, Religious, and People of God in the Diocese of Borongan:

This is the 9th year of commemorating one of the world’s deadliest natural disasters that happened in our very own shores on November 8, 2013, the Super Typhoon Yolanda. It was a story of grief and sorrow for those who have lost their loved ones, of acceptance, of humility and redemption.

The threats and challenges remain, and in an uncertain future may again happen, but what we have are the lessons of the past, something we have learned, and by all means we have to sustain – continue educating ourselves, our young ones especially for they will be the ones who will bear the consequences of our decisions and actions of today.

For this commemoration, let us continue with binding hopefulness and solidarity in the face of so many challenges coming our way and be thankful to the Lord that we have risen from the horrible destruction that super typhoon Yolanda had brought. We have seen God’s saving acts at work in our own history. We thank individuals, groups, and organizations who helped us rise and recover, and never forget them in our prayers.

We pray for our loved ones who died during and shortly after Yolanda’s wrath. We continually entrust them to God’s mercy in our Masses. We also remember the lives that were spared that they may find comfort and strength in God to rebuild and move forward in their lives.

As we face an uncertain future let us continue to pray for deliverance from all calamities, both natural and man-made, and other vagaries of weather. Many of the calamities we face are related to climate change and global warming as pointed out by scientists and experts. We must hear the poor cry of our planet for common action to save our common home. For this to happen, we must heed Pope Francis’ call for ecological conversion. We must move away from the sins of environmental abuse and neglect to show that we are truly returning to the Lord and we truly care for one another.

May God always bless you!

MOST REV. CRISPIN B. VARQUEZ, DD
Bishop of Borongan

Cardinal Tagle reminds that Bishops are not “functionaries of the Pope” or “clerics of the State,” but “successors of the Apostles.”

OCTOBER 23, 2022
Gianni Valente

(ZENIT News – FIDES / Rome, 22.10.2022).- “The motive for everything is to safeguard the valid apostolic succession and the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church in China,” with the desire to “calm, console and cheer up” Chinese Catholics.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle uses calm tones and words calibrated to reiterate what moves the Holy See to extend together with the Beijing Government for two more years the term of the Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Chinese Bishops, signed in September 2018 and then renewed for the first time on October 22, 2020

The Filipino Cardinal recalls with grateful words the sensus fidei of so many Chinese Catholics, whose witness “has not sprouted in well cultivated and protected gardens, but in a rough and uneven terrain.” He acknowledges that “certain wounds need time and God’s consolation to be healed.” He reminds that “Bishops are not ‘functionaries of the Pope’” or “clerics of the State,” but “successors of the Apostles.” And he acknowledges how and why even the last words he heard from his Chinese grandfather help him today “to consider what can be more useful” in the dialogue with the Beijing Government.

What is the criteria that leads the Holy See to persevere in the decision taken four years ago?

The Agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese Government, signed in 2018, refers to the procedures of selection and appointment of Chinese Bishops. It is a specific question, which touches a neuralgic point in the life of the Catholic community in China. In that country, historical events have caused painful lacerations in the heart of the Church, to the point of casting a shadow of suspicion on the sacramental life itself. Hence at stake were things that affected the intimate nature of the Church and its mission of salvation.

With the Agreement an attempt is made to guarantee that Chinese Catholic Bishops can carry out their episcopal functions in full communion with the Pope. The motive is to safeguard the valid apostolic succession and the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church in China. And this can calm, console and cheer up baptized Catholics in China.

The Holy See has always reiterated the circumscribed character of the Agreement, which touches a vital subject for the Church and, therefore, cannot also be reduced to a contour element of some diplomatic strategy. Any consideration that ignores or darkens this singular physiognomy of the Agreement ends by giving it a false representation.

It’s still not the time to make an evaluation, not even provisional. However, from your point of view, how do you see the progress realized and the effects of the Agreement?

Since September 2018, six Bishops have been ordained according to the procedures established in the Agreement. The channels and areas of dialogue continue to be open, and this is already important in itself, in the given situation. The Holy See, listening to the Chinese Government and also to the Bishops, priests, religious and laity, is aware of this reality, in which fidelity to the Pope has been maintained even in difficult times and contexts, as intrinsic data of ecclesial communion.To listen to the arguments and objections of the Government also leads us to take into account the contexts and the “forma mentis” of our interlocutors. We discover that things that are absolutely clear and almost obvious to us can be new and unknown to them. It is also a challenge for us to find new words, new persuasive and familiar examples for their sensibility, to help them to understand more easily what really matters to us.

And what really matters to the Holy See?

The Holy See’s intention is only to foment the election of good Chinese Catholic Bishops that are worthy and apt to serve their people. However, to foment the election of worthy and ideal Bishops is also of interest to national Governments and Authorities, including those of China. Then, one of the Holy See’s desires has always been to foster reconciliation and see wounds healed and the open contrasts within the Church because of the tribulations they have been through. Certain wounds need time and God’s consolation to be healed.

Does one not run the risk of hiding problems under the veil of hasty optimism?

Since this process began, no one has expressed naïve triumphalism. The Holy See has never talked about the Agreement as the solution to all the problems. It has always perceived and affirmed that the road is long, it can be exhausting and that the Agreement itself can give way to misunderstandings and disorientation. The Holy See does not ignore or minimize the diversity of reactions among Chinese Catholics in face of the Agreement, where the joy of many is mixed with the perplexity of others. It is part of the process. But one must always “dirty one’s hands” with the reality of things exactly as they are. Numerous indications exist that many Chinese Catholics have grasped the inspiration followed by the Holy See in the process underway. They feel grateful and comforted by a process that confirms before all their full communion with the Pope and the universal Church.

Civil authorities intervene in the election of Chinese Bishops. But this does not seem to be a novelty or exclusivity of the Chinese situation . . .

The intervention of civil authorities in the election of Bishops has been manifested several times and in diverse ways in history. Also in the Philippines, my country, the rules of the “Royal Patronage” were in force for a long time, by which the organization of the Church was subjected to Spanish royal power. Saint Francis Xavier and the Jesuits also carried out their mission in India under the patronage of the Portuguese Crown . . . They are certainly different things and contexts, given that each case has its own specificity and historical explanation. But in these situations, what is important is that the procedure used for episcopal appointments guarantees and safeguards what the doctrine and discipline of the Church regard as essential to live hierarchical communion between the Successor of Peter  and the other Bishops, successors of the Apostles. And the same happens with the procedures used at present in China.

The Chinese Government always calls the local Church to the demands of “Sinicization”

Throughout history Christianity has always experienced the processes of inculturation also as adaptation to the cultural and political contexts. The challenge in China can also be to show that belonging to the Church is not an obstacle to being a good Chinese citizen. There is no contradiction, no autarchy and, in fact, it is precisely walking in the faith of the Apostles that can help good Christians to be also good citizens.

In this phase of the process, and given the possible slowdown and mishaps, in what can the Holy See trust? In what can it trust?

The sensus fidei is comforting, of which so many Chinese Catholics give witness. A precious witness, which has often not sprouted in well cultivated and protected gardens, but in rough and uneven terrains. When I look at the history of Catholicism in China in the last decades, I always remember Saint Paul’s passage in the Letter to the Romans: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Many Chinese Catholics have experienced in their flesh what Saint Paul writes  about – the tribulations, the anxieties but also the victory given by Christ’s love for them.

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.”

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.

By CBCP News
September 26, 2022
Manila, Philippines

A top Catholic official opened this year’s National Laity Week by encouraging the lay faithful to be ‘a force for the good’ in the country.

Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila said that the laity have a far greater area of responsibility in marriage and family.

He said that the lay faithful have a huge role to play on issues related to politics, economy, justice and peace, and the integrity of creation.

“Let us be a force for the good in society,” Advincula said in his homily during Mass at the Lay Force Center of San Carlos Seminary in Makati City on Saturday, Sept. 24.

“Let us strengthen our programs for the poor and our youth ministry,” he also said.

Among the concelebrants was Bishop Enrique Macaraeg of Tarlac, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Laity.

With the theme “Journeying Together and Reflecting Together on the Journey that has been made… Communion, Participation, and Mission”, the week of the laity will end on October 1.