Church will remain vigilant vs corruption, human rights abuses — CBCP official

Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs, during the closing Mass of the 1st National Convention for Public Affairs Ministers in Manila on Sept. 20, 2022. CBCP NEWS

By CBCP News

September 23, 2022

Manila, Philippines

The Catholic bishops’ leadership has vowed “conscientious engagement” with the government but it can’t turn a blind eye on corruption and human rights abuses, an official said.

Its public affairs chief, Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista, said that collaboration is important for the nation’s growth but the Church must adhere to its Christian values of “truth, peace, and love”.

The Church, according to him, will actively support the government “provided moral principles are not compromised”.

“We will also remain vigilant and critical to all forms of corruption, mishandling of public funds and violations of human rights,” Evangelista said.

“Tensions only arise when we do not fulfil what we ought to do according to God’s will such as when we do not respect human life; violate human rights; and greedily think of personal convenience instead of seeking for the common good,” he said.

The bishop made the statement early this week during the inaugural gathering in Manila of more than 40 diocesan public affairs ministers.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs. CBCP NEWS

Organized by the Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs (ECPA), the national convention reflected on the theme, “Church and State collaboration and conscientious engagement in serving the nation”.

Among the speakers include Bishop Teodoro Bacani, who discussed the rationale of the public affairs ministry in the teachings of the 2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines.

Fr. Jerome Secillano, ECPA executive secretary, stressed that “the mission of public affairs is evangelization” and its goal “is the development of our people including the progress of our nation”.

“It is far from what critics always accuse the church of, that she is anti-government and anti-politician or worse, an enemy of the State,” Secillano said.

“It is hoped that the church’s noble objective of evangelizing the public sphere would bring great strides in making our country great again,” he added.

Evangelista also said the convention is a reminder that “the doors of our hearts are constantly open for dialogue because the secret to building a strong society and a better future for a nation is dialogue carried out in the spirit of discernment and humility.”

He also expressed hope that more dioceses will establish a public affairs office “to promote the common good and the Gospel values in our society”.

References:

CBCP News. (2022, September 23). Church will remain vigilant vs corruption, human rights abuses — CBCP official. Retrieved from CBCP News: https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/church-will-remain-vigilant-vs-corruption-human-rights-abuses-cbcp-official/?fbclid=IwAR0j7_YXmNS1tbUbggUI5_1VBWWUfTSEz6TAzXWu19FAjLfqbeeeyaCCUWc

 

JUBILEE HOPE 2025 LOGO HAS BEEN PUBLISHED

The Logo shows four stylized figures to indicate all of humanity from the four corners of the earth. They are each embracing another, indicating the solidarity and brotherhood that must unite peoples. It should be noted that the first figure is clinging to the cross. The underlying waves are choppy to indicate that the pilgrimage of life is not always on calm waters. Oftentimes personal circumstances and world events call for a greater sense of hope. This is why the lower part of the Cross is elongated turning into an anchor, which dominates the movement of the waves. As is well known, the anchor has often been used as a metaphor for hope. In fact, in maritime jargon, the hope anchor is the name given to the spare anchor, used by vessels for emergency maneuvers to stabilize the ship during storms. It should be noted that the image shows how the pilgrim's journey is not individual, but rather communal, with the signs of a growing dynamism that moves more and more toward the Cross. The Cross is by no means static, but it, too, is dynamic, bending toward and meeting humanity as if not to leave it alone, but rather offering the certainty of its presence and the reassurance of hope. Finally, the Jubilee 2025 Motto, Peregrinantes in Spem is clearly visible in the color green.

Link: http://www.pcpne.va/content/pcpne/en/giubileo-2025/logo-giubileo.html

BREAKING: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in historic abortion decision

 BREAKING: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in historic abortion decision

By Katie Yoder, Shannon Mullen

Washington D.C., Jun 24, 2022 / 08:24 am

The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in a historic 6—3 decision released Friday that brings a sudden and dramatic end to nearly a half-century of nationwide legalized abortion in the U.S. 

The opinion, in the Mississippi abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is widely seen as the Supreme Court’s most highly anticipated and consequential ruling since Roe. It not only overturns Roe, the landmark 1973 abortion case, but also Casey v. Planned Parenthood, a 1992 decision that affirmed Roe.

“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority,” the opinion states. “We now overrule these decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”

The Dobbs opinion was written by Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett joined the opinion. Thomas and Kavanaugh filed concurring opinions. Chief Justice John Roberts filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Associate justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented.

The decision does not ban or criminalize abortion, nor does it recognize an unborn child’s constitutional right to life. But in one, breathtaking stroke, the court’s action sweeps away entrenched legal barriers, created and strictly enforced by the federal judiciary, that for decades have blocked states like Mississippi from heavily restricting or prohibiting the killing of unborn children in the womb.

In the process, the decision ushers in a new era of abortion politics in the U.S., with the battleground now shifting to state legislatures. Those democratically elected bodies are now free to debate and regulate abortion as they see fit, as happened throughout American history before the Supreme Court federalized the issue.

At the same time, the ruling marks a watershed moment for the Catholic Church and the wider pro-life movement in the United States, which have painstakingly sought Roe’s reversal since the landmark 7-2 decision was handed down on Jan. 19, 1973.

“America was founded on the truth that all men and women are created equal, with God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore said in a joint statement following the opinion’s release.

“This truth was grievously denied by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized and normalized the taking of innocent human life,” the Catholic bishops continued. “We thank God today that the Court has now overturned this decision.” Gomez is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Lori is chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

“Today’s decision is also the fruit of the prayers, sacrifices, and advocacy of countless ordinary Americans from every walk of life. Over these long years, millions of our fellow citizens have worked together peacefully to educate and persuade their neighbors about the injustice of abortion, to offer care and counseling to women, and to work for alternatives to abortion, including adoption, foster care, and public policies that truly support families,” the statement continued.

“We share their joy today and we are grateful to them. Their work for the cause of life reflects all that is good in our democracy, and the pro-life movement deserves to be numbered among the great movements for social change and civil rights in our nation’s history.”

The outcome of Dobbs came as little surprise, since the final opinion substantially resembled a draft written by Alito in February that was leaked to the press on May 2.

In Roe v. Wade, the court ruled that states could not ban abortion before viability, which the court determined to be 24 to 28 weeks into pregnancy. Nearly 20 years later, the court upheld Roe in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The 1992 ruling said that while states could regulate pre-viability abortions, they could not enforce an “undue burden,” defined by the court as “a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus.”

Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, the subject of the Dobbs case, directly challenged both decisions, because it bans abortion weeks after 15 weeks, well before the point of viability.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have inflamed debate and deepened division,” the opinion states.

SOURCE: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251247/supreme-court-roe-v-wade-dobbs-decision

Gov. Tamayo, ayaw pirmahan ang pinagtibay na ordinansa ng SP para sa open pit mining

Gov. Tamayo, ayaw pirmahan ang pinagtibay na ordinansa ng SP para sa open pit mining

KORONADAL CITY - Tiniyak ni South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Jun Tamayo Jr., na hindi nito lalagdaan ang pinagtibay na ordinansa ng Sangguniang Panalalawigan na magbibigay ng pahintulot sa Open Pit Mining sa lalawigan ng South Cotabato.

Ginawa ng gobernador ang katiyakan kasabay ng kanilang pagpupulong ni Marbel Bishop Allan Casicas, Huwebes ng umaga sa loob ng kapitolyo. 

Ayon kay Governor Tamayo, bagama't hindi pa nito natanggap ang kopya ng pinagtibay na ordinansa ng SP, may tatlo syang pagpipilian na maaring gawin sa naturang isyu. 

Una ang paglagda sa ordinansa, pangalawa hindi lumagda at pangatlo ang pag veto. 

Sa tatlo aniyang pagpipilian, ngayon pa lamang ay tiniyak nito na hindi sya lalagda sa ordinansa. 

Sa ngayon, agad na bumuo ang gobernodor ng Technical Working Group (TWG) upang magsagwa ng pag-aaral sa isyu at magsumite ng rekomendasyon para pagbabatayan ng kanyang desisyon. 

Nabatid na sumugod kaninang umaga sa harap ng kapitolyo ang ilang residente at mga anti-mining groups upang ipanawagan kay Governor Tamayo na i-veto ang naging desisyon ng SP na amyendahan ang ordinansa ng Environment Code ng South Cotabato partikular ang pag-lift ng Open Pit Mining Ban sa lalawigan. 

Magugunitang unanimous ang naging desisyon ng SP mula sa 10 miyembro na dumalo sa kanilang isinagawang session noong Mayo 16, 2022. 

Kabilang sa bumoto pabor sa Open Pit mining sa South Cotabato ay sina:

1. Board Member Larry De Pedro VI

2. Board Member Dardanilo Dar

3. IP Representative Edgar Sambog

4. Board Member Noel Escobillo

5. Board Member Antonio Fungan

6. Board Member Alaisa Marie Fale

7. Board Member Eamon Mati

8. Board Member Henry Ladot  

9. Board Member Rolando Malabuyoc

10. Board Member Rose Grace Achura 

Mula nang bomoto pabor sa Open Pit Mining ang 10 mambabatas, umani ito nang batikos mula sa mga mamamayan ng South Cotabato, mula sa iba't ibang sektor ng lipunan lalo na sa sektor ng simbahan Katolika.

Source : TopGun Radio 106. 5 Koronadal City

Higit 1000 Anti-mining advocates sumama sa “solidarity walk” upang ipanawagan na e-veto ng gobernador ang pag-lift sa ban sa open pit mining

KORONADAL CITY – Nasa higit isang libong mga anti-mining advocates ang nag-martsa mula sa Christ the King Cathedral hanggang sa harap ng kapitolyo ng South Cotabato upang ipanawagan kay Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. na e-veto ang ordinansa na nag-lift na sa ban sa open pit mining sa probinsiya.

Ayon kay Most Rev.Cerilo Casicas, DD, Obispo ng Diocese of Marbel, ang nasabing aktibidad ay pagpapakita ng pagkadismaya sa mga kasapi ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan matapos na inaprubahan “unanimously” ang pag-lift sa ban sa open pit mining sa probinsiya.

Hindi lamang ang ibat-ibang parokya ng Diocese of Marbel ang sumama sa solidarity walk kundi maging ang ibat-ibang sector at religious organization kabilang na ang mga kabataan, at mga mamamayan sa South Cotabato na hindi sang-ayon sa ginawa ng sampung mga kasapi ng SP.

Habang nagsasagawa ng programa sa labas ng kapitolyo ay nakipag-dayalogo naman ang Obispo at mga kasamahan nito sa gobernador ng probinsiya.

Lumabas din ang gobernador at humarap sa mga nag-martsa at ipinangakong pag-iisipan nito ng maigi ang kanyang desisyon.

Ipinangako din nito na bubuo umano ng isang Technical Working Group (TWG) na siyang mag-e-evaluate muna sa isusumiteng ordinansa ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan kung nasunod ang proseso ng ammendment ng Environment Code ng South Cotabato.

Napag-alaman na wala pa sa opisina ng gobernador ang mga dokumento ng ordinansa mula sa SP dahil binawi umano at may aayusin pa.

Sa ngayon, umaasa ang mga taga South Cotabato na mananatili ang ban sa open pit at hindi matuloy ang operasyon ng Copper Gold project ng Sagittarius Mines Incorporated sa bayan ng Tampakan.

Source: Bombo Radyo Koronadal

CBCP urges ’intense prayer’ for elections

By CBCP News

May 6, 2022

Manila, Philippines

The country’s Catholic bishops on Friday have called for three days of “intense prayer” for the local and national elections.

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the bishops’ conference, expressed hope that the elections will be “a concrete experience of synodality for our people”.

“We can only fight this battle in the best way we can—through prayer and well-discerned action,” David said.

In a circular, he suggested to dioceses that they keep their parish churches open during the whole days of May 8 to 10, and the Blessed Sacrament exposed for adoration.

He said the faithful may also be encouraged to take turns in keeping vigil before the Blessed Sacrament, and pray the rosary, along with the Litany of Our Lady of Loreto, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Oratio Imperata for the Elections.

The communities of consecrated persons, especially the contemplatives, are also asked to do the same in their convent chapels.

The CBCP also called for the ringing of church bells upon the opening of voting precincts at 6:00 a.m. for ten minutes on May 9, Election Day.

“This is to remind our faithful to exercise their civic duty as citizens to vote, and to do so in the spirit of prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten their consciences in their choice of new national and local leaders for our country,” David said.

“In our solidarity in prayer, we beg the Holy Spirit to drive away the evil spirits that influence desperate candidates and their supporters to engage in vote buying, fraudulent practices, threats, intimidations and acts of violence,” he added.

The CBCP also asked for prayers for the Commission on Elections and its partner agencies and organizations that they will “efficiently carry out their duties” for a clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful election.

Retrieved from : CBCP News

 

Pope Francis asks for annual report on Church’s efforts to prevent abuse

Pope Francis meets members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors at the Vatican, April 29, 2022. VATICAN MEDIA

By Courtney Mares

Catholic News Agency

April 30, 2022

VATICAN— Pope Francis has asked the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to produce an annual report on what the Catholic Church is doing around the world to prevent the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.

In an audience at the Vatican on April 29, the pope called on the commission to produce the annual audit to promote “transparency and accountability.”

“This might be difficult at the beginning, but I ask you to begin where necessary, in order to furnish a reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change, so that the competent authorities can act,” he said.

“This report will be a factor of transparency and accountability and – I hope – will provide a clear audit of our progress in this effort. Without that progress, the faithful will continue to lose trust in their pastors, and preaching and witnessing to the Gospel will become increasingly difficult.”

Father Andrew Small, the secretary of the commission, responded positively to the pope’s request for the report at a press conference following the papal audience.

“Verifiable data has to be at the heart of rebuilding trust,” Small said.

“The idea of a report has been clearly working in the financial sector. Doing this in the safeguarding sector seems to be the only way to rebuild trust.”

The commission’s report will not deal with specific cases, but will provide details on the status of safeguarding policies and procedures, according to Small. This will include how effectively guidelines are being implemented.

“The Holy Father is aware … that unless you are reporting on this, it’s very hard to know what’s been achieved, so he asked the commission to present an annual report on the status of safeguarding policies and procedures,” Small said.

“He wants a report on this and he said, ‘I want to see where things aren’t going well, so that they can be improved.'”

While noting that it will be ultimately up to the pope to decide whether the annual reports will be made public, the English priest said: “I can’t imagine a world in which the report would not be published.”

“The whole structure and tenor of the conversation was that there’ll be some public reckoning because he linked the report to the struggle to rebuild trust with the faithful. And he said if we’re not showing a record of trust, it’s going to be very difficult for us to do our primary work, which is to preach the Gospel.”

Under the new Vatican constitution, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, created by Pope Francis in 2014, will be “established within the dicastery” currently known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“Its task is to provide the Roman Pontiff with advice and counsel, and to propose the most appropriate initiatives for the protection of minors and vulnerable persons,” according to the apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium (“Preach the Gospel”), which goes into effect in June.

In his speech to the commission, Pope Francis underlined that “abuse in any form is unacceptable.”

“The path to healing is a long and difficult one; it requires firm hope, hope in Christ who went to the Cross and even beyond the Cross,” he said.

“The risen Jesus bears, and will always bear, the marks of his Crucifixion on his glorified body. Those wounds tell us that God saves us not by passing over our sufferings but by passing through those sufferings, transforming them by the power of his love.”

“The healing power of the Holy Spirit does not disappoint; God’s promise of new life does not fail. We need but have faith in the risen Jesus and repose our lives in the wounds of his risen body.”

The pope urged the commission to assist bishops’ conferences in establishing centers where people who have experienced abuse can find “acceptance and an attentive hearing, and be accompanied in a process of healing and justice, as indicated in the motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi.”

Vos estis lux mundi (“You are the light of the world”) was issued by the pope following the Vatican’s abuse summit in 2019 after the Theodore McCarrick scandal became public.

The legislation presented a canonical plan to address the investigation of bishops accused of sexual abuse or coercion, or of interfering in the investigation of such conduct.

After the audience, Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the president of the commission for the protection of minors, said: “The Holy Father wants us to ensure that survivors receive a welcome and an open door when they appeal to the local church in their country.”

“Outreach to survivors needs to be a priority for every part of the church. We will be working on establishing survivor support services at the level of each national church according to the instructions found in Vos estis lux mundi.”

Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of clerical sexual abuse in Chile and a member of the pontifical commission, said he believed that the annual report was a good development because it would not only be a report on the bishops’ conferences around the world but also on the different dicasteries of the Roman Curia.

“So this mandate that we now have in this annual report … I think it’s something that is encouraging,” Cruz said.

“I thank the Holy Father for that because … I’ve heard people in the Curia, with all due respect, say, ‘Isn’t it enough? Haven’t we done enough already? Poor priests. Poor bishops.’ No.”

“We’re going to follow up till the bitter end,” he said.

Choose pro-worker bets, Church-labor group urges voters

Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, chairperson of Church People – Workers Solidarity (CWS). DIOCESE OF SAN CARLOS

 By CBCP News

April 26, 2022

Manila, Philippines

A Church-labor organization called on voters to consider the labor agenda of candidates as one of the major factors in choosing whom to vote for.

The Church People – Workers Solidarity (CWS) said it is important for the public to know the labor programs of the candidates, especially those seeking for national positions.

“Voters must consider candidates that prioritize and advance the labor agenda,” said its chairperson Bishop Gerardo Alminaza in his message for this year’s Labor Day.

The San Carlos prelate also called on the nation’s future leaders to remain steadfast in their promise of protecting the rights of workers.

He lamented, for instance, how the practice of contractualization remains rampant all over the country despite bold promises of candidates in the past elections to abolish it.

Contractualization, he stressed, undermines job security which further results in massive unemployment.

“They must immediately scrap anti-labor laws that perpetuate oppression and exploitation and craft more laws that promote and protect the rights and dignity of workers,” Alminaza said.

The organization assured it will continue to link arms and stand in solidarity with the workers and other marginalized sectors of society.

“We will continue to remain vigilant especially after the election period in demanding pro-labor policies,” the bishop added.

“We hope and pray that our future leaders will bring about genuine societal change; one that would benefit the least of our brothers and sisters in society,” he also said.

International Labor Day on May 1 is a public holiday in many countries like the Philippines.

The CWS said the country will celebrate this year’s labor day in the midst of “worsening socio-economic and political crisis”.

It said workers have barely recovered from the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic where millions of Filipinos lost their jobs.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported a 6.4% unemployment rate in February, which roughly translates to around 3 million jobless Filipinos.

Source: CBCP News

'MOST WANTED': APOLLO QUIBOLOY

'MOST WANTED'

"Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the founder of a Philippines-based church, is wanted for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders. Members who proved successful at soliciting for the church allegedly were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to continue soliciting in the United States year-round.

Furthermore, it is alleged that females were recruited to work as personal assistants, or “pastorals,” for Quiboloy and that victims prepared his meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy in what the pastorals called “night duty.”

Quiboloy was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling, and on November 10, 2021, a federal warrant was issued for his arrest."

SOURCE:

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/human-trafficking/apollo-carreon-quiboloy

JUBILEE YEAR 2025: PILGRIMS OF HOPE

Photo: The Manila Cathedral

JUBILEE YEAR 2025: PILGRIMS OF HOPE

Speaking after an audience with Pope Francis on 3 January, Archbishop Rino Fisichella said that during the meeting the Pope approved the motto proposed for the upcoming Jubilee Year, a motto he said, “that can be summed up in two words: Pilgrims of hope."

Archbishop Fisichella explained that, like for any motto, it attempts to condense the meaning of the entire Jubilee journey. He notes that the chosen words – pilgrims and hope – both represent key themes of Pope Francis' pontificate.

Read the whole article here: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-01/jubilee-year-2025-motto-archbishop-fisichella-new-evangelization.html?fbclid=IwAR0MGrVghD0X8TYpoU0V8MW5ItFaL4yP9kdd87ZP_mr5FfmK41_dSt6XDlc

BISHOP CERILO U.CASICAS D.D OF THE DIOCESE OF MARBEL TACKLES ABOUT ON THE OPPOSING OF OPEN PIT MINING AT THE LEGISLATIVE BUILDING OF SOUTH COTABATO IN THE CITY OF KORONADAL

Please Click the link:

HIS EXCELLENCY BISHOP CERILO CASICAS TACKLES ABOUT ON OPEN PIT MINING AT THE LEGISLATIVE BUILDING OF SOUTH COTABATO IN KORONADAL CITY

Source: Radyo Rapido 92.7 FM-Koronadal City