Category: News

Ang tumatanggap ng kanyang kaliitan sa harapan ng Diyos ay mas madaling makaunawa at magmalasakit sa mga “maliliit” sa lipunan

Homiliya para sa Pistang Santo Niño, Mt 18:1-5,10

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David
January 15, 2023

Niregalo ni Magellan ang orihinal na Santo Niño de Cebu sa pamilya ni Rajah Humabon noong 1521. Tinambangan siya at pinatay ng mga kawal ni Lapu-lapu sa Mactan. Muling natuklasan ang imahen ng mga sundalo ni Legazpi noong 1565. Pumatay daw siya ng mahigit sa limandaang mamamayan ng Sugbu (Cebu) at nanunog ng mahigit limang libong kabahayan dahil ayaw daw magpasakop sa kanya ng mga katutubo. Gusto ba ito ng Santo Niño?!!

Isang sundalo daw ang nakatuklas ng imahen matapos ang paglusob. Natagpuan daw ang isang baul sa isa sa mga bahay na sinunog. Naroon sa loob ang imahen ng Santo Niño! Nang makita raw ito ni Legazpi naghahagulgol daw siya. Tinuring daw niyang isang palatandaan ito. Palatandaan ng ano?

Iba ang interpretasyon ko sa hagulgol ni Legazpi. Palagay ko ang mensaheng nakuha niya sa maliit na imahen ng Santo Niño ay: “Hoy, Señor Legazpi, hindi porke’t malaki ka ay may karapatan kang apihin ang mga maliliit. Kung gusto mong magtagumpay, huwag kang maging marahas. Makipag-usap ka, magpakumbaba ka, huwag magmamalaki.” (Siyempre, interpretasyon ko lang naman iyon. Iba ang interpretasyon ng kanyang mga chroniclers.)

Kapag piyesta ng Santo Niño, binabasbasan natin ang mga bata. Ibig bang sabihin nito na ang Santo Niño ay para lang sa mga bata? Oo. Pero higit sa lahat, ito’y para sa matatanda rin, lalo na iyong mga nawawalan na ng pagkabata. Ito’y tungkol sa ating lahat, dahil lahat tayo ay “tumatanda.”

Ang katawan ng tao kapag nagkakaedad ay unti-unting nanghihina sa ayaw natin at sa gusto, nagkakasakit, hanggang sa mamatay. Kapag sumabay ang kaluluwa sa pagtanda ng katawan, sasabay din ito sa pagkamatay ng katawan. Puwede bang hindi? Oo naman; ito nga ang isa sa mga misteryong ating pinanghahawakan bilang mga Kristiyano. Tayong naniniwala na nabubuhay tayo sa katawan ng muling nabuhay na Kristo na hindi tumatanda.

Ang landas ng pagiging alagad ni Kristo ay landas ng ispiritwal na pagkabata; ang pagpapanatili sa pagkabata ng kaluluwa habang tumatanda ang katawan. Naniniwala tayo na habang tumatanda ang katawan natin, dapat unti-unting bumabata ang kaluluwa, upang ang ating pisikal na pagkamatay ay maging okasyon ng ating ispiritwal na pagsilang. Ito ang tinutukoy sa atin ng ikalawang pagbasa mula na sulat ni San Pablo sa mga taga-Efeso na isa sa mga “biyayang ispiritwal” na kaloob sa atin ng Ama sa pamamagitan ni Hesukristong Anak niya — na tayo ay mahirang na maging banal at musmos sa kanyang paningin.

Isang malalim na palaisipan at landas ng kabanalan ang Santo Niño. Isang debosyon na pinaunlad ng mga Carmelites at pinalaganap bilang isang ispiritwalidad ni Santa Teresita ng Lisieux, kaya siya tinatawag na “Santa Teresita ng Niño Hesus.” Isa sa mga inspirasyon nito ay ang huling bahagi ng ating narinig na ebanghelyo ngayon Mat 18:3 “Sinasabi ko sa inyo ang totoo, kung hindi kayo magbago at maging tulad ng maliliit na bata, hindi kayo mapapabilang sa kaharian ng Dios.”

Ibig sabihin, ang kaharian ng Diyos ay hindi maaaring manahin ng kaluluwang hinayaang “tumanda;” ito ay para lamang sa mga yumayakap sa landas ng ispiritwal na pagkabata.

Palaisipan ito. Sa Santo Niño, ibig ng Simbahan na ating maaninag ang larawan ng ating kaluluwa. Larawan ng ating mismong sarili, bilang kabahagi ni Kristo. Kapag tayo’y sumunod kay Hesus, susunod din tayo sa kanyang landas, ang tinutukoy ni Santa Teresita na “landas ng kaliitan.” Ang landas na ito ang nagpapabata sa kaluluwa habang tumatanda ang katawan.

Kailan mo alam na tumatanda na ang tao, hindi lang sa katawan kundi pati na rin sa kaluluwa? Kapag natututo na tayong magtanim ng galit, mainggit, at makipagpaligsahan katulad ng maraming nakatatanda.

Kapag istorbo na ang tingin natin sa mga bata. Kailan ba natin tinatawag na “pangmatanda lamang” ang mga ginagawa natin? Kailan natin sinasabing “hindi kasali ang mga bata” sa gagawin natin? Anong mga gawain ang “for adults only?” Lahat ng may kinalaman sa kalaswaan, karahasan, kalupitan, atbp. Kailan tayo biglang nagiging maamo at bumubuti ang asal? Kapag tayo’y nasa piling ng mga bata!

Minsan tinanong ako ng isang matandang biyudo: Father, dalawang beses po akong nag-asawa at dalawang beses din nabiyudo. Pagkamatay ko, sino sa dalawang naging asawa ko ang magiging asawa ko? Hindi kaya sila mag-away at magsabunutan sa langit? Nakakatawa ang ganyang klaseng tanong, pero aminin natin, sumasagi din sa ating isipan ang ganyan. Ano ang magiging itsura natin sa langit?

Ang sabi ko sa matanda, wala naman pong matanda sa langit. Dahil ang langit ay nagpapabata, ang lahat ng papasok dito ay magiging mga mistulang “bata.” Kung magkikita kayo nga mga napangasawa ninyo sa langit, hindi ninyo sila makikita bilang asawa, kundi bilang kapwa bata; magiging mga musmos tayong lahat sa piling ng Diyos.

Ang “Santo Niño” ay “landas ng kaliitan.” Bukod tanging ang mga marunong magpakumbaba sa harap ng Diyos ang tatanggap ng kanyang awa at patawad. Ang marunong magpakumbaba ay mas madaling makaunawa sa mga nasa mababang kalagayan. Ang tumatanggap ng kanyang kaliitan sa harapan ng Diyos ay mas madaling makaunawa at magmalasakit sa mga “maliliit” sa lipunan.

Ang mga nagmamalaki, ang mga masyadong malaki ang pagtingin sa sarili ang natututong yumapak at mang-alipusta sa mga maliliit. Ang marunong magpakumbaba ay hindi pagkatakot at paglayo ang mararamdaman sa piling ng Diyos. Tulad ng bata, lulundag siya na walang takot sa kamay ng tatay nya, dahil alam nyang sasaluhin siya Nito.

By LiCAS News

January 11, 2023
Manila, Philippines

A court in the Philippines cleared a Catholic missionary nun and several human rights activists of perjury charges that were filed by the country’s former national security adviser in 2019.

A Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court in the capital Manila acquitted the activists after the prosecution failed to establish “beyond reasonable doubt” that the accused “made a willful and deliberate assertion of a falsehood.”

Among those found not guilty were Sister Elenita Belardo, national coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP); women rights activists Gertrudes Libang and Joan Salvador; and human rights advocates Cristina Palabay, Elisa Lubi, Roneo Clamor, Edita Burgos, Wilfredo Ruazol, Gabriela Krista Dalena, and Jose Mari Callueng.

The case stems from a complaint filed by former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon who claimed that leaders of the RMP, human rights group Karapatan, and women’s group Gabriela lied in their petition for a “writ of amparo” before the Supreme Court.

Esperon — who was a respondent in the amparo petition — accused the activists of calling RMP a “registered non-stock, non-profit organization” even as the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly revoked the organization’s certificate of registration in 2003.

The Quezon City prosecutor’s office initially indicted the 80-year-ol Belardo, a member of the Religious of the Good Shepherd congregation. Esperon later appealed and included the other activists in the charge.

In a statement, Karapatan welcomed the dismissal of the case, calling it “a victory of truth and justice, against lies.”

The human rights group maintained that the case was “aimed at disrupting our work … in helping victims (of human rights violations) seek justice, in defending the rights of people.”

“We will continue to explore all options under domestic and international human rights mechanisms to hold the perpetrators of this form of judicial harassment accountable,” read the Karapatan statement.

Women’s group Gabriela expressed hope that “this positive decision augurs well for the calls to stop the attacks against human rights defenders in the country.”

The ecumenical group Promotion of Church People’s Response said the acquittal of the activists was “a much hoped for result.”

“However, the very struggle to overcome this charge pushed by [Esperon] underscores the great dangers in defending human rights in the Philippines.”

The group said the threats, harrassment, and other abuses faced by human rights defenders “are clear and present dangers.”

Ecumenical youth group Student Christian Movement of the Philippines also welcomed the dismissal of the case, saying “Our God is truly a God of justice and reason.”

“Through our faith and struggle, we can win against fabricated cases against human rights defenders and expose those who attempt to use the law for the defence of the selfish powerful,” said Kej Andres, the group’s national spokesperson.

“This victory is a joint effort not only by the legal teams of organizations, but also by the wide support of Filipino masses and Filipino religious who stand by the defense of human rights and defense of our faith to serve the marginalized,” he added.

The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines is a religious organization, which is inter-congregational and inter-diocesan in character, of religious women and men, priests, and lay people that was founded on Aug. 15, 1969.

It is a “mission partner” of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, now known as the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines. The faith-based group is currently under scrutiny of the Philippine government for alleged terrorism financing and for allegedly being an aboveground communist organization.

By CBCP News
November 18, 2022
Manila, Philippines

The Parents for Education Foundation, Inc. (PAREF), a network of 16 schools based in the Philippines, is holding the 3rd Jesus-Centered Life (JCL) International Conference this coming December 8.

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, whose “ultimate purpose” according to St. Pope Paul VI is the universal call to holiness, the conference theme is “Holy and heroic: The courage to be Catholic”.

With over 30 years in his ministry, international speaker John Beaulieu from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in the US will speak on how Catholics can be heroically holy in their daily struggles.

An expert in youth evangelization, Beaulieu has worked in the Christian Outreach Office of the Franciscan University, and presently is its Director for Evangelization and Engagement.

In a recent press conference with Beaulieu, Dr. Raul Nidoy, and Danny Moran, the panel talked about how we can grow stronger and more courageous as we move on to the post-pandemic era.

“We are slowly going back to how our lives used to be, but it’s not as simple as we thought,” said PAREF Chair and President Danny Moran.

According to him, many changes and new challenges have occurred whether it be in the business sector or one’s own spiritual life.

Moran said it’s important to ask ourselves, “What are these difficulties, and how do we cope with all of these things? There has to be a lot of adjustments, but the bigger challenge is how we can be holy and heroic in this era.”

He suggested “beginning wherever we are– at home, in our daily lives, facing the situations that we encounter daily, whether it’s academic, athletic, or even professional, there has to be a lot of adjustments.”

Beaulieu stressed that despite the challenges and hardships presented by the post-pandemic era, people have to entrust their fears to the Lord, quoting Joseph Piper who once said, “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”

To do this, the conference speaker heavily encouraged the need to pray, read the Bible and frequent the Sacraments “to put us in contact with the living Word of God” as a means of entering Him.

“This is so important: receive the sacraments. They give grace to us and draw us closer to Christ,” Beaulieu said.

November 21, 2022

To all Laiko Members: National Lay Organizations & Diocesan Councils of the Laity

Dear Brothers  & Sisters:

The peace & love of the Lord!

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ this Christmas, we are pleased to invite you to an online Advent Recollection on Saturday, December 3, 2022, 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M.

We have invited Fr. Jason Laguerta, Director of the Office for the Promotion of New Evangelization of the Archdiocese of Manila to facilitate the event with the theme:  “Journeying Together as a People during the Advent Season”.  Together let us prepare ourselves spiritually as we welcome His coming into our midst.

Kindly encourage all your members, family and friends to join this moment of grace, hope and thanksgiving. 

Here is the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4273338193?pwd=VTV4aE4yVkpNQjdwMDRhcCtiZ0ZwUT09

Meeting ID: 427 333 8193

Passcode: EMMANUEL

Kindly register to join the Zoom room & be acknowledged.  Please email: laiko_phils@yahoo.com.ph, messenger: Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas or Text: 0967- 4025652. The event is also live at the Facebook page of Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

The government should provide protection for environmental defenders and hold climate polluters accountable for “destructive acts”

LiCAS News
November 8, 2022

A group of environmental activists rebuked the Philippine government for its “empty climate rhetoric,” saying it should undertake concrete climate actions.

In a statement, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment said the government should provide protection for environmental defenders and hold climate polluters accountable for “destructive acts.”

The green group’s statement came on the heels of the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations on the Philippine government’s fifth periodic report on the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Human Rights Committee released its concluding observations on October 28, 2022.

The release of the report coincided with the opening of the 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“The government should immediately heed the recommendation of the Human Rights Committee to strengthen the Philippine legal framework on climate change and enact laws that will hold climate polluters accountable for their pollutive acts,” said Clemente Bautista, Kalikasan PNE’s International Networks Coordinator.

“The concluding observations made by the Committee on the fifth periodic report are timely and appropriate,” said Clemente, adding that it echos the reality of “continuing human rights violations, injustice and climate inaction happening in the country.”

In its observations, the Human Rights Committee highlighted the lack of information on measures taken by the government to implement actions to address climate change impacts on human rights and the role of business corporations in climate pollution.

Bautista said the Human Rights Committee is “on point in its declaration that the Philippine government failed to provide information to show that there is an improvement in the country’s civil and political rights situation.”

Heads of state and government are meeting, facing calls to deepen emissions cuts and financially back developing countries devastated by the effects of rising temperatures

Agence France Presse
November 8, 2022

The UN’s chief warned Monday that nations must cooperate or face “collective suicide” in the fight against climate change, at a summit where developing countries reeling from global warming demanded more action from rich polluters.

Nearly 100 heads of state and government are meeting for two days in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, facing calls to deepen emissions cuts and financially back developing countries already devastated by the effects of rising temperatures.

“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” Guterres told the UN COP27 summit.

“It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact or a Collective Suicide Pact,” he added.

Guterres urged the world to ramp up the transition to renewable energy, and for richer polluting nations to come to the aid of poorer countries least responsible for heat-trapping emissions.

He said the target should be to provide renewable and affordable energy for all, calling on the United States and China in particular to lead the way.

US-Sino tensions, however, have prompted Beijing to freeze climate cooperation with Washington.

President Xi Jinping is absent from the summit, while President Joe Biden will attend it later this week after US midterm elections.

‘Persisting distrust’

Nations worldwide are coping with increasingly intense natural disasters that have taken thousands of lives this year and cost billions of dollars.

They range from devastating floods in Nigeria and Pakistan to droughts in the United States and several African nations, as well as unprecedented heatwaves across three continents.

“We have seen one catastrophe after another,” said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. “Is it not high time to put an end to all this suffering?”

Money has emerged as a major issue at COP27, with wealthy countries scolded for failing to fulfil their pledge to provide $100 billion per year to help developing countries green their economies.

This is a “major cause for persisting distrust, and neither is there any sound reason for the continuing pollution”, said Kenyan President William Ruto, who announced an African climate summit for next year.

A salvo of crises — from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to soaring inflation and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic — have raised concerns that climate change has dropped down the priority list of governments.

‘Highway to climate hell’

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said President Vladimir Putin’s “abhorrent war in Ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose gas-dependent economy has been squeezed hard by cuts in Russian supplies, also warned against a “worldwide renaissance of fossil fuels”

Guterres called for a “historic” deal between rich emitters and emerging economies, with countries doubling down on emissions reductions to hold the rise in temperatures to the more ambitions Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era.

Current trends would see carbon pollution increase 10 percent by the end of the decade and put the world on a path to heat up to 2.8C.

“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator,” Guterres said.

Poorer countries successfully fought to have the issue of “loss and damage” — compensation for the damage caused by climate-enhanced natural disasters — officially put on the COP27 agenda.

“We, the oceanic states that suffer the harsh effects of your activities, have to be assisted in repairing the damage you cause to us,” said Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan, whose island nation is threatened by rising waters.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for a windfall tax on the profits of oil companies, that would be funnelled to a loss and damage fund.

‘Living nightmare’

The United States and the European Union have dragged their feet for years on compensation for climate impacts, fearing it would create an open-ended reparations framework.

“Loss and damage is not an abstract topic of endless dialogue,” Ruto said. “It is our daily experience and the living nightmare for hundreds of millions of Africans”.

Guterres said that getting “concrete results on loss and damage is a litmus test of the commitment of governments to the success of COP27.”

In a possible blueprint for other developing nations, a group of wealthy nations approved a plan paving the way for South Africa to receive $8.5 billion in loans and grants to move away from coal.

COP27 is scheduled to continue through November 18, with ministers joining the fray during the second week.

Security is tight at the meeting, with Human Rights Watch saying authorities have arrested dozens of people and restricted the right to demonstrate in the days leading up to COP27.

© Copyright LiCAS.news. All rights reserved. Republication of this article without express permission from LiCAS.news is strictly prohibited. For republication rights, please contact us at: yourvoice@licas.news

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.

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.”