Caritas Philippines sets up scholarship fund for ‘academically challenged’ students

The organization allocated Php65.5 million for its educational assistance as part of its Alay Kapwa Legacy Stewardship Program

LiCAS News
August 10, 2021

Local counterparts of the social action secretariat of the Philippine Catholic Church attend a workshop conducted by Caritas Philippines. (File photo by Mark Saludes)

Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Church in the country, has set up a scholarship fund for “academically challenged” junior high school students.

The organization allocated Php65.5 million for its educational assistance as part of its Alay Kapwa Legacy Stewardship Program.

Bishop Jose Collin Bagaforo said the aim of the project is to provide at least 525 poor children “with equal access to primary and secondary education and skills and opportunities.”

“We need to invest in the education of our youth if we want more gold medals, better government and next-generation leaders,” said Bishop Bagaforo in a report on CBCP News.

Father Antonio Labiao, executive secretary of Caritas Philippines, said the educational assistance covers online learning and other school fees, tutorial services and training.

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Look to Christ, not the law, to receive new life, pope says at audience

Pope Francis greets guests dressed in traditional clothing during his general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall Aug. 11, 2021. The pope continued his series of audience talks focused on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians and reflected on what role God’s law to Moses plays in helping people encounter Christ. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

By: Carol Glatz
August 11, 2021

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — What made Christian life radically new was the call for those who have faith in Jesus Christ to live in the Holy Spirit, who liberates from the law God handed down to Moses, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience.

Mosaic law was necessary and important to follow at that time in history, but it served as a path to follow toward an eventual encounter with Christ and his commandment of love, he said Aug. 11 to those gathered in the Paul VI audience hall at the Vatican.

The pope continued with his series of talks reflecting on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, focusing on the apostle answering the question, “Why, then, the law” if, after all, “there is the Holy Spirit and if there is Jesus who redeems us?”

“The law is a journey” and it acts like a teacher that takes people by the hand, leading them forward, toward an encounter with Jesus and having faith in Christ, he said.

God gave Moses the law to prepare his people on this journey during a time of rampant idolatry and to help his people guide their behavior in a way that showed and expressed their faith and covenant with God, he said.

However, he said, the law was not the covenant; the covenant came first with Abraham, hundreds of years before Moses, the pope said. The covenant was based not on the observance of the law, but on faith in the fulfilment of God’s promises, he said.

St. Paul needed to clarify the role of the law to the Galatians because there were “fundamentalist missionaries” among them who seemed almost “nostalgic” about observing Mosaic law, believing that adhering to the covenant also included observing the Mosaic law, he said.

The apostle explains that, “in reality, the covenant and the law are not linked indissolubly,” the pope said. “The first element he relies on is that the covenant established by God with Abraham was based on faith in the fulfillment of the promise and not on the observance of the law that did not yet exist.”

“Having said this, one should not think, however, that St. Paul was opposed to the Mosaic law” because he does defend its divine origin and says it has “a well-defined role in the history of salvation,” the pope said.

“The law, however, does not give life, it does not offer the fulfillment of (God’s) promise, because it is not capable of being able to fulfill it. Those who seek life need to look to the promise and to its fulfillment in Christ,” he said.

This was the problem — when people put more importance on observing the law than with encountering Christ, he said.

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Philippines to hold virtual Eucharistic congress

This Jan. 29, 2016 file photo shows thousands join a Eucharistic procession at the sidelines of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu City. PHOTO BY ROY LAGARDE

By Roy Lagarde
August 5, 2021
Manila, Philippines

The Philippine Catholic Church will hold a virtual congress on the Eucharist in “solidarity” with the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Hungary’s capital of Budapest next month.

Fr. Miguel Garcia, executive secretary of the bishops’ Permanent Committee on International Eucharistic Congresses (PCIEC), said the local event will be hosted by the Sta. Cruz Church in Manila on Sept. 11.

“Sta. Cruz Church will be the center of the activity but all the talks will be pre-recorded and will be broadcast online,” Garcia said.

Among the speakers include Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos, who served as secretary general of the 51st IEC in the city of Cebu.

The priest from the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament said that preparations are still ongoing and final details will be announced in the coming weeks.

The IEC in Budapest will start on Sept. 5, with Pope Francis scheduled to lead the closing Mass on Sept. 12.

The major religious gathering was originally set for September 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The PCIEC had previously planned to send at least 500 delegates to Budapest, but was shelved because of the prevailing health crisis.

The target number of participants was aimed to highlight the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines.

“Unfortunately, we have to cancel the plan because of our situation,” Garcia added.

But he said that Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu, the current chairman of PCIEC, is planning to attend the global event.

According to him, it has been a tradition that one of the Masses during the one week celebration is presided by the bishop of the previous host of the IEC.

“He (Palma) is trying his best but I’m still awaiting for any development,” he said.

The IEC first took place in France in 1881 with the goal of increasing devotion to the Eucharist.

It has continued to be held once every four years in a different city across the globe, taking place in Jerusalem, Nairobi, Melbourne, Korea, the U.S., and throughout Europe.

The last congress was held in Cebu in 2016, with more than 12,000 registered delegates, though more than a million people took part in the closing Mass.

It will be Hungary’s second time to host the IEC, with the first one also held in Budapest in 1938.

No to commercial propagation of Golden Rice

The Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc (PMPI) expresses its concern over the commercial propagation of the Genetically Modified (GM) crop in Golden Rice, as approved by the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industries (DA-BPI).

The genetically-modified Golden Rice is likely to have unforeseen impacts on people, animals, and other plants’ health, biodiversity, and environment. It is also worrisome that agrochemical and seeds corporations would take advantage and control of the rice farming systems, which is a staple food of Filipinos.   This will be risky for small farmers’ local and traditional rice seeds. Instead of a monoculture crop, the government should continuously promote backyard and community gardening for diversify the sources of nutrients within homes and communities.

While we recognize the need to address the so-called prevalence of nutritional problems such as vitamin A deficiency, which some experts believe is just a myth purveyed by corporations who will benefit from this (VAD), it does not necessarily need to be addressed by an engineered crop, but rather through an eco-systemic approach such as agroecology, permaculture and sustainable agriculture which promote dietary diversification, improve soil health and condition, and are economically viable.

We assert the need for transparency on assessment results and the need for independent testing. We express our doubt on whether Golden Rice has the capability to address nutrient deficiency among Filipinos when other systemic issues such as the provision of affordable food, water, housing, and healthcare for all have yet to be fulfilled.

We raise the question of the necessity of Golden Rice when root crops and leafy vegetables other than rice can already provide Vitamin A. We raise the question of who will truly benefit the most from its profits and the corporatization of food systems that oppress and push our farmers into deeper inequality.

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State of Indigenous Peoples Address 2021 Report

From 26 to 28 July 2021, Indigenous representatives and the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) mounted the State of Indigenous Peoples Address (SIPA). SIPA is an annual gathering that provides Indigenous communities the platform for giving voice to their struggles and aspirations.

On World Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we share the SIPA 2021 report which documents the key discussions during the gathering. The last section of the report, on the calls and commitments of Indigenous communities, is vitally important in responding to the plight of Indigenous peoples, one of the poorest and most marginalized sectors in the Philippines. Tagalog and Binisaya translations of the calls and commitments have also been produced and attached to this email.

SIPA 2021 was organized with solidarity organizations Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Movement, Lilak Purple Action for Indigenous Women, and Samdhana Institute.

For more information or clarifications, please write to us at lrckskfoeph@gmail.com.

SIPA 2021 ReportDownload
SIPA 2021 Panawagan at TindigDownload
SIPA 2021 Panawagan ug BarugananDownload

Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center – Friends of the Earth Philippines

Pope’s prayer intention for August: Church on the way

Pope Francis releases the prayer intention for the month of August, inviting everyone to work for a transformation of the Church – a work that begins with “a reform of ourselves” through an experience of prayer, charity and service, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

By Benedict Mayaki, SJ

In his video message for his prayer intention for August, Pope Francis reminds the faithful that “the vocation of the Church is evangelization,” and even more, “the Church’s identity is evangelization.”

In this month, the Holy Father reflects on the situation of the Church, its vocation and its identity, and calls us to renew it “by discerning God’s will in our daily life,” and “embarking on a transformation guided by the Holy Spirit.”

“Our own reform as persons is that transformation,” the Pope said. This allows the “Holy Spirit, the gift of God in our hearts, to remind us what Jesus taught and helps us to put into practice.”

Evangelization and a more missionary option

Pope Francis begins with the specific vocation of the Church, which is to evangelize. The Holy Father dreams of an even more missionary option: “one that goes out to meet others without proselytism and transforms its structures for the evangelization of today’s world.”

He emphasizes that he is not talking about proselytism but rather a reform of the Church through “a reform of ourselves, without prefabricated ideas, without ideological prejudices and rigidity.”

To make progress in this regard, Pope Francis invites all to move forward based on spiritual experience: “an experience of prayer, an experience of charity and an experience of service.”

Reforming the Church

“Let us remember that the Church always has difficulties,” the Pope said, explaining that the Church goes through crises because she is alive; not like the dead who do not go through crises.

In a statement accompanying the Pope’s prayer intention, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which prepares “The Pope Video” each month, explains that in the recent letter Pope Francis wrote to Cardinal Reinhard Marx, in which he refused his offer of resignation, the Holy Father acknowledged the crisis in the Church brought about by abuse cases, emphasizing the need for reform.

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National Laity Week Celebration 2021

July 29, 2021

To: All Laiko Members: Arch/Diocesan Councils of the Laity & National Lay Organizations
Dear Brothers & Sisters:

The peace and love of the merciful Lord be with you!

The Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas will once again celebrate the National Laity Week on September 18 to 25, 2021. Despite the present situation, we believe all the more that we have to highlight the indispensable role of the laity in the life and mission of the Church in the most feasible ways.

This year’s theme is: “Celebrate as One in 2021 – the Gift of Christianity, The Gift of Mission and the Gift of Unity”

The Opening Celebration on September 18, 2021 will be hosted by the Archdiocese of Cebu, while the Closing Event on September 25, 2021 is to be hosted by the Diocese of Baguio.

As in the past, we encourage you, in coordination with your Bishops, Priests & superiors to organize Laity Week related activities in your respective Arch/Dioceses, parishes and communities.

We will update you on the details of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies once they are finalized so that you can actively participate.

Thank you. Once again, we count on your utmost support and active participation.

Sincerely in the service of the Lord,

Noted by:

+MOST REV. BRODERICK S. PABILLO, D.D.
Chairman
CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Laity

Human Trafficking, Why so Few Convictions?

Fr. Shay Cullen
6 August 2021

The recruitment and sale of humans is an age-old crime against the rights, freedom and dignity of everyone exploited and forced to work for little or no wages and controlled and trapped by their traffickers and slave-masters.Young women and boys are especially targeted and offered fake jobs and given empty promises to get them to sign documents that put them in debt and under the control of their recruiters. Worse, when trafficked to work in the Philippines or abroad, they are forced to work in brothels, as domestics, in factories and are living mostly in sub-human conditions and are underpaid. Many are brought to brothels and sex parlors, sexually abused and trapped in sex work from which few escape.

The “Not for Sale Fund,” an international charity says, “Today, there are approximately 45.8 million people caught in the trap of modern slavery around the world. This includes 10 million children, 15.4 million people in forced marriage, and 4.8 million people in forced sexual exploitation. However, it is difficult to determine exact statistics because so many cases of human trafficking go undetected and unreported.”

Poverty and the desire for a life of economic liberty and well-being of one’s family make poor men and women vulnerable and in danger of a life of slavery. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery and it is facilitated in the Philippines by individuals’ and syndicates aided by corrupt officials. It is a global business worth billions of dollars to traffickers around the world. It is a crime that will never be vanquished unless the victims are healed and cared for and the criminals convicted and jailed. Most criminals operate with impunity and walk free. Only 89 were convicted in 2019 and 73 were convicted in 2020 in the Philippines.

The Philippines is considered a hot spot for human trafficking and slavery and while hundreds of suspected traffickers are arrested, few are convicted. The US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for 2020 points out how very few convictions there are in a population of 110 million people.

In part the report says, “The government convicted 73 traffickers under the anti-trafficking act and related laws (89 traffickers in 2019). Most of the convicted traffickers subjected children to sex trafficking, including 25 who sexually exploited children online (compared to 32 in 2019); three committed labor trafficking (five in 2019).”

This low conviction rate is because some investigators, government social services and rescue NGOs have limited facilities and therapeutic centres to protect, treat and empower the rescued victims of sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. Many victims after giving statements, staying a few days or weeks in a temporary shelter without therapeutic and psychological intervention, are sent home, traumatized. There, the relatives and friends of the accused trafficker threaten them not to testify. Protection, healing and empowerment are the most important services needed to help the victims and stop human trafficking but they are not available in most cases.

When a case does get to court, the delaying tactics by the defence, where endless postponements, allowed by complicit judges, frustrate the victim witness and they give up attending hearings not having testified.They are vulnerable to threats or a payoff. As a result, hundreds of legal cases are dismissed- for lack of evidence- to the frustration of law enforcers. Some other traffickers can recruit the victims again and they return to sex work to pay off debts. The anti-trafficking law needs review and a new section must be added that says victims must be given specified therapeutic care, protection, and professional intervention. This has to be for a time and the victim financially compensated while in the therapeutic centre for a longer period of time until they have healed and are empowered to testify in court. Then they will be provided with aftercare, education and livelihood.

There are some success stories, however. Most of the girls in the Preda Foundation Home for trafficked and abused children belong to dysfunctional families and were victims of domestic abuse and violence from an early age. These neglected and abused children then take to the streets to survive and to find freedom from the beatings and sexual abuse in their homes. On the streets, they are most vulnerable to unscrupulous traffickers who pick them up, offer them money, food, clothes, jobs and cheap smart phones. That puts them in the power of the traffickers.

When five girls aged 14 to 16 were trafficked by Michael Macaranas in Subic, he brought them to his house and with other men abused them sexually many times. After a tip off, they were rescued by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and put under the protective custody of the Preda Foundation. They were protected, cared for, had many months of therapy and were healed from trauma and empowered to testify against their trafficker Michael Macaranas. He was convicted on two counts of trafficking and was sentenced to life in prison and to pay his victims moral and exemplary damages which he never did. The Preda aftercare helped the victims finish school and lead a happier, better life. That was one more conviction in the annual success rate of an average of 15 convictions by the Preda children.

That’s because the victims were healed after a few months of Emotional Release Therapy and were self-confident and changed young girls. Their testimony was direct, clear and convincing.

In her decision dated October 7, 2019, Judge Ma. Cristina J. Mendoza-Pizarro conducted a no-nonsense speedy trial, brooked no delaying tactics and noted that the defence of consent did not apply as the minors were forced and tricked into the sexual exploitation, a noteworthy decision.

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