Category: News

Fr. Shay Cullen
02 October 2010

The Covid-19 pandemic is on everybody’s mind, weighs on the spirit and invades the body, paralyzes social life and cripples the world economy. Yet, people are adapting, surviving, recovering and are resilient. They, but a few, are coping with the new normal, a reality that the virus is here to stay for a while longer and we have to live and survive it.

The best of human nature is seen in the dedicated service of health care workers. They risk, they sacrifice, they serve. Many tragically die helping others live. What an inspiration they are as they are saving lives and giving back health to the patients with Covid-19.

It is a privilege to help the poor, the sick and the abused children. They are emotionally, physically, and psychologically damaged by the brutal abuse of criminal adults. The dark side of human nature is always with us but now child abuse is expanding like another pandemic due to lock down.

The live streaming of child sexual abuse and the proliferation of pornography that lead to rape has grown. It is the secret crime, done alone to weak vulnerable children that are threatened and terrified to tell of their suffering and ordeal.

30 September 2020

Dear friends, partners in development,

Warm greetings! In recent months, we’ve been witnesses to the worsening human rights situation of indigenous peoples (IP) in the country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. With restrictions caused by quarantine measures, civil society organizations (CSOs), private business turned to online platforms to continually inform the public about the situation and issues of IPs, and still advocate for their rights despite the challenges.

The implementation of destructive large-scale infrastructure projects under the government’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) infrastructure program has not stopped despite the ongoing health emergency. The New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Low Dam project that will potentially destroy the environment and dislocate Dumagat and Remontado communities in Rizal and Quezon continues despite the incomplete and manipulated FPIC process by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). The latest Commission on Audit (COA) report affirms this fact.

In this regard, the Network Opposed to Kaliwa, Kanan and Laiban Dams in cooperation with the Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights (TFIP) would like to invite you to an online public forum “Kaliwa Low Dam: Kasalukuyang kalagayan at mga maka-kalikasang alternatibo”, on October 6, 2020 at 10AM to 12PM via the Zoom platform.

The date is significant as it marks the second year since the founding of the NO to NKKLD. This forum will also be the second part of TFIP’s Tudtulan Series which will include webinars and other online activities related to indigenous peoples’ rights.

The forum aims to share updates from communities in relation to the NCWS-Kaliwa Low Dam project. It also aims to discuss the reports from CoA, CHR and the petition to the Supreme Court regarding the onerous loan with the Chinese government to fund this project. More importantly, the network will discuss actions from this point while there is a pandemic and beyond which will include legal remedies, collective actions and lobbying for ecologically sustainable alternatives.

Please confirm your attendance by registering at https://forms.gle/KBNxc61BWFBFA8mdA. Should you have questions or clarifications, kindly contact tfip@philtfip.org, or Tyrone Beyer at 0949-8868567; email ibonfoundation.research@gmail.com or call/SMS 09084632860.

We look forward to your positive response and hope to have you with us in our advocacy for sustainable use of the environment for genuinely ecologically sustainable economic development and in upholding IP rights, and people’s welfare.

For NO to Kaliwa, Kanan, Laiban Dams,

(signed) Kriza Leaño
UCCP-IDPIP Southern Tagalog, NO to KKLD Co-convenor

(signed) Teddy Casińo
Water for the People Network, NO to KKLD Co-convenor

(signed) Jill Cariño
Executive Director, Philippine Task Force Indigenous People’s Rights
NO to KKLD Co-convenor

September 24, 2020

Is faith always intimately tied to the nation? The historical fact is that the relationship of faith to the modern concept of “nation” was not always thought to be a legitimate question by the majority of evangelical Christians after the Second World War. In the Philippines, for example, most evangelicals did not raise such a question at all, even though by the late 1990s the term “bayan” was popularized in a charismatic evangelical TV program. Prior to this, it is interesting that some nationalist-oriented groups have already claimed, at least since the 1970s, that the concept of “bayan” strikes a deeper chord in the psyche of the Filipino, than the foreign concept of “nation”.Nevertheless, given the above claim concerning the deeper cultural register of “bayan”, it is striking that very little theological reflection has been done by evangelicals on the relation of their faith to their “bayan”. This is generally true in both the evangelical seminaries and churches in the Philippines. As one observer puts it: “Do Christians sincerely believe that in prioritizing the concerns of church multiplication, such an approach will automatically solve the problems of their bayan?” And this, to say the least, may initially frame the problematic evangelical view on “faith and bayan”.In response to this, we are happy to announce that a group of evangelical scholars and practitioners have come together precisely to tackle the multidimensional theme of “faith and bayan”. We therefore invite the public to join us in this series of webinars, as our presenters respond to some of the key theological questions and social issues raised in relation to our central theme. We hope that this will spark a sustained conversation, not only among evangelicals, but also among our kababayans.Join us, every Monday of October and November, at 7:30 PM as we come together in conversation to talk about this important issue. We will stream live on the following pages:
Faith and Bayan
KapeTheo
TruthorDare
LAPIS
CrossCurrents Philippines
Bawat Isa Mahalaga
Coalition for Justice

Pastoral Message
Closing of the Year of the Word of God
September 30, 2020

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.”
(John 14:1). These were the words of Jesus Christ to assure His disciples that God would be on their side, even in the darkest days of their lives. Now that we are currently facing the pandemic caused by CoVid-19, God assures us that He will never abandon us. We should not be in despair because we firmly believe that God will restore all things in Christ in due time.

As we face the CoVid-19 pandemic, it is timely that our Church dedicates this year 2020 to be the “Year of the Word of God” from the First Sunday of Advent (December 1, 2019) until the feast of St. Jerome (September 30, 2020). This year commemorates the 1600th Death Anniversary of St. Jerome who translated the Scriptures into Latin which made the Word of God understandable to ordinary people. In this spirit, we are challenged to renew our efforts to actively listen to the Word of God and be inspired by it in carrying out our mission as members of the Church. With this, I invite all the dioceses, parishes, religious congregations, parochial and catholic schools, lay associations and religious movements to engage the faithful in appreciating the Word of God. Now is the best time to let the people experience and witness the love of Jesus Christ by spreading His words and deeds to all.

We are not only experiencing the horror of CoVid-19 pandemic but also the danger of the pandemic of deception and falsehood in our society. There is now a big challenge for all of us to be vigilant in discerning the genuine truth in our words and deeds. The written Word of God can definitely aid every person in refuting all the errors which the society falsely believes. And this falsehood, unfortunately, we have noticed with great dismay how it has, very subtly, distorted our way of looking at the world and corrupted our way of responding to the challenges that confront us today. St. Paul says, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)” Instead of spreading negative thoughts and depraved reactions, we are challenged to share the Word of God especially to the hopeless and the needy in this time of the pandemic. Instead of deceiving others, we should persistently proclaim the truth of God’s love for all of us.

We are also in the middle of the pandemic of indifference and selfishness. Because of the need for social distancing, we might distance ourselves from the people who desperately need our love and help. This pandemic should not make us indifferent and selfish. Rather, we should be inspired all the more to live out the gospel of love proclaimed by our Lord Jesus Christ through our words and actions. St. Paul says, “so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.” (Romans 12:5) We are part of one another, even if we are apart from each other. With this, let us invite one another to listen together to the Word of God to have a shared experience of God’s love. When we see things together through the Word of God, we will know how to express our love for one another through our actions. When we live together in the Word of God, we shall become a beacon of unity for all men and women especially during this pandemic.

With joy and gratitude in our hearts we pray that through the intercession of St. Jerome, whose feast we celebrate today, we too may be filled with fervor to translate the Word of God into deeds of compassion that will engage us all in the work for true justice and peace in our world.

Finally, Pope Francis, in his homily during the Sunday of the Word of God last January 26, 2020, he reminded us with these words, “God came to visit us in person, by becoming man. He did not embrace our human condition out of duty, no, but out of love.” As parts of the Body of Christ, similarly, we need to embrace one another with the love of Jesus Christ. The Word of God working in us is our constant assurance that our God will never abandon us.

75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

By Pope Francis
September 25, 2020

Mr. President,

Peace be with all of you!

I offer cordial greetings to you, Mr President, and to all the Delegations taking part in this significant Seventy-fifth Session of the United Nations’ General Assembly. In particular, I greet the Secretary General, Mr António Guterres, the participating Heads of State and Government, and all those who are following the General Debate.

The seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations offers me a fitting occasion to express once again the Holy See’s desire that this Organization increasingly serve as a sign of unity between States and an instrument of service to the entire human family.[1]

In these days, our world continues to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to the loss of so many lives. This crisis is changing our way of life, calling into question our economic, health and social systems, and exposing our human fragility.

The pandemic, indeed, calls us “to seize this time of trial as a time of choosing, a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not”.[2] It can represent a concrete opportunity for conversion, for transformation, for rethinking our way of life and our economic and social systems, which are widening the gap between rich and poor based on an unjust distribution of resources. On the other hand, the pandemic can be the occasion for a “defensive retreat” into greater individualism and elitism.

We are faced, then, with a choice between two possible paths. One path leads to the consolidation of multilateralism as the expression of a renewed sense of global co-responsibility, a solidarity grounded in justice and the attainment of peace and unity within the human family, which is God’s plan for our world. The other path emphasizes self-sufficiency, nationalism, protectionism, individualism and isolation; it excludes the poor, the vulnerable and those dwelling on the peripheries of life. That path would certainly be detrimental to the whole community, causing self-inflicted wounds on everyone. It must not prevail.

The pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to promote public health and to make every person’s right to basic medical care a reality.[3] For this reason, I renew my appeal to political leaders and the private sector to spare no effort to ensure access to Covid-19 vaccines and to the essential technologies needed to care for the sick. If anyone should be given preference, let it be the poorest, the most vulnerable, those who so often experience discrimination because they have neither power nor economic resources.

The current crisis has also demonstrated that solidarity must not be an empty word or promise. It has also shown us the importance of avoiding every temptation to exceed our natural limits. “We have the freedom needed to limit and direct technology; we canput it at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral”.[4] This also needs to be taken into careful consideration in discussions on the complex issue of artificial intelligence (AI).

Along these same lines, I think of the effects of the pandemic on employment, a sector already destabilized by a labour market driven by increasing uncertainty and widespread robotization. There is an urgent need to find new forms of work truly capable of fulfilling our human potential and affirming our dignity. In order to ensure dignified employment, there must be a change in the prevailing economic paradigm, which seeks only to expand companies’ profits. Offering jobs to more people should be one of the main objectives of every business, one of the criteria for the success of productive activity. Technological progress is valuable and necessary, provided that it serves to make people’s work more dignified and safe, less burdensome and stressful.

Dear S.E.R. Mons. Valles Romulo G., ,

The 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) will be celebrated next Sunday 27 September 2020.

With the theme “Forced like Jesus Christ to flee”, Pope Francis urges us to discover the reality of internally displaced people more deeply and invites us to celebrate the WDMR in our community. As an aid to preparing, we are sending you the latest video produced by the Migrants and Refugees Section for this year’s communication campaign.

Every month, a new video of Pope Francis and other multimedia materials have delved into the one of the sub-themes present in the Message of the Holy Father. The sub-themes have been “To know in order to understand”, “To be close in order serve”, “To listen in order to be reconciled”, “To share in order to grow” and “To involve in order to promote”.

Today, we invite you to watch the last newly released video, in which the Holy Father explores the sixth sub-theme “To collaborate in order to build”. It offers real-life testimony of an internally displaced person who describes how she was able to rebuild her life thanks to the help and collaboration she received.

In the video, the Holy Father urges us to collaborate “perfectly united in mind and thoughts”, as Saint Paul urges.

The video, the suggestions for the celebration of the Day and the material available via the link below can be freely downloaded, published, used and shared:

Download Material
The Migrants and Refugees Section is happy to receive video, photos and other accounts of the celebration of the WDMR in your community. The material can be sent to media@migrants-refugees.va