Monisgnor Jeffrey Malanog, during the Regional Lay Leaders Conference in Tagbilaran, reminded the Laity not to separate our faith from our actions! True! It is...
Pope Francis marked 2024 as the Year of Prayer, in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year. Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, together with the Diocese of...
As global warming brings increasingly extreme weather, people in the province of Albay fear that “nowhere is safe”
Agence France Presse October 26, 2021
Displaced residents of the town of Tiwi in Albay province watch over their devastated houses on Nov. 3. (Photo by Vincent Go)
A year after a powerful storm sent an avalanche of volcanic rock and sand crashing down, burying her house, Philippine food vendor Florivic Baldoza still lives in an evacuation centre.
As global warming brings increasingly extreme weather, she now fears “nowhere is safe.”
Hundreds of families from poor villages around Mayon volcano in Albay province on the country’s most populous island of Luzon are waiting for new homes after Typhoon Goni pounded the region last November.
“That’s the strongest I’ve ever experienced,” Baldoza, 40, told AFP, standing on a mound of dark sand that now covers the house she once shared with her husband and two teenage daughters.
Several hundred thousand people fled as Goni barrelled towards the archipelago nation — ranked as one of the world’s most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
But some residents in San Francisco village — including Baldoza’s family — ignored warnings to shelter in a school, confident a river dike built several years ago would protect them from flooding.
As the most powerful typhoon to hit the country last year dumped heavy rain on an area still sodden from another cyclone a week earlier, Baldoza realised her family was in peril when water began cascading over the several metres high cement wall.
They bolted to her mother’s house across the road as a devastating mix of water, volcanic sand and boulders smashed the dike further upstream and tore through the village.
“We were trapped inside the house,” Baldoza told AFP. “We were crying, my husband was separated from us — we thought he was dead.”
Lucky to be alive, but trapped in deep mud, Baldoza and eight relatives, including children, twisted their bodies from side to side to escape, then climbed out a window and up on to the roof.
Her husband, Alexander, survived by scrambling up a mango tree.
Holding on to a powerline to avoid being blown away by fierce winds, the family clambered over the top of several houses before reaching a taller building.
“Our house was being hit by boulders, but we couldn’t do anything,” said Baldoza, who watched helplessly as the torrent swept away the family’s motorised tricycle and motorbike.
“If we hadn’t left our house, we would have died.”
The iconic Mayon Volcano in the province of Albay, south of Manila, is seen from a distance in Tiwi town, which was devastated by Super Typhoon Rolly on Nov. 1. (Photo by Vincent Go)
‘Disaster capital’
It is not the first time excessive rain has forced Baldoza to relocate.
About 23 years ago, before Baldoza got married, her mother sold their house in a flood-prone area of the same village and moved the family to higher ground.
“We didn’t expect that we would experience the same thing,” Baldoza said.
Anger after govt allowed people to flock to a Manila beach but banned Catholics from marking All Souls celebrations
Joseph Peter CallejaJoseph Peter Calleja, Manila Published: October 26, 2021
People troop to the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach along Roxas Boulevard in Manila after authorities eased its quarantine restrictions in the nation’s capital. (Photo; AFP)
Church people in the Philippines have blasted a decision to allow people to flock to an artificial beach in Manila while banning Catholics from marking All Saints and All Souls celebrations from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3.
Father Aris Sison of St. John Paul II Parish in Quezon City and Divine Word Father Flavie Villanueva said the decision to allow thousands to flock to Dolomite Beach in Manila Bay at the weekend flouted the government’s social distancing rules.
More than 4,000 people visited the artificial beach, according to officials.
The priests questioned why this was allowed when All Saints and All Souls celebrations, where people head to cemeteries to honor departed loved ones, were banned.
Father Sison said the government should at least provide some consistency when making decisions on mass gatherings.
“These decisions are very, very inconsistent, to say the least,” Father Sison told TeleRadyo on Oct. 25, stopping short of accusing the government of hypocrisy.
Which is more important? Our deep religious tradition of visiting our departed loved ones or visiting a fake beach?
“The government could have allowed limited movement in the cemeteries rather than allowing thousands of people to flock to Dolomite Beach,” he added.
He said he could not understand why the government banned traditional memorial days for the dead but allowed a super spreader event like a day at the beach to go ahead.
“Which is more important? Our deep religious tradition of visiting our departed loved ones or visiting a fake beach?” he said.
Father Flavie Villanueva, director of the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center, a foundation that feeds Manila’s homeless, also condemned what he said were double standards by the government.
“We encourage people to visit a … beach. But we forbid them to visit our beloved dead,” Father Villanueva, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, posted on Facebook.
The government, although admitting to opening the beach, said it did not expect so many people to descend on it.
“Crowding could become a Covid-19 super spreader. We urge everyone to exercise extreme caution,” Health Department spokesperson Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
Duterte’s spokesman reminded people that they should avoid crowded places. “There is still an ongoing pandemic. Minors are only allowed outside when absolutely necessary, so should not be visiting beaches,” Harry Roque said.
Nuns among thousands in vehicle parades across country in show of support for presidential bid
Joseph Peter Calleja, Manila October 25, 2021
A nun gives out medals during a ‘pink caravan’ in support of Leni Robredo’s bid for the Philippine presidency in Manila on Oct. 23. (Photo: Eleanor Llanes)
Thousands of Leni Robredo supporters took to their vehicles to stage simultaneous processions across the Philippines on Oct. 23 to show support for the vice president’s bid for the top office in presidential polls next year.
All supporters wore pink, a color that has been adopted by Robredo and her supporters as a symbol of hope for new and better governance.
Robredo’s team said there were about 10,000 vehicles in the motorcades dubbed as “pink caravans” to sow hope among the people.
At least 50 vehicles paraded in Davao City in Mindanao, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Among those who also turned out at various locations were nuns from several congregations, some of whom waved pink flags and wore aprons. Others distributed religious medals with pink ribbons while wearing pink masks.
Sorsogon priest Father Emmanuel Afable explained the meaning of pink in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church.
So, if the sisters wore pink, it was to symbolize hope. They are fighting for hope and the joy it brings to society
“Pink means hope. Like on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Easter. During Lent, the fourth Sunday is called Laetare and speaks of joy that we should possess,” Father Afable told UCA News.
“So, if the sisters wore pink, it was to symbolize hope. They are fighting for hope and the joy it brings to society.”
Manila parishioner Ruby Vasquez said in a Facebook post: “Although clergymen and nuns cannot engage in partisan politics, they can voice support for good governance, oppose killings and corruption. These are clear moral problems that we are facing now as a people.”
Robredo later thanked her supporters for organizing the event.
“I was not expecting that this many would participate. Looking at the photos, it seems that every location has a different gimmick but one in advocacy — hope,” she said.
Recent polls have Robredo ranking second behind Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, son of the late strongman President Ferdinand Marcos, among the presidential candidates.
Prelate launches blistering attack on govt officials over alleged misuse of funds meant to fight pandemic
Joseph Peter CallejaJoseph Peter Calleja, Manila October 22, 2021
Health workers from the government-run Philippine General Hospital hold placards in Manila on Aug. 26 as they ask the government to pay their risk allowances amid rising Covid-19 infections. (Photo: AFP)
A Catholic bishop in the Philippines has called for protests over an alleged 67 billion peso (US$1.3 billion) pandemic scam, saying Catholics should demand that corrupt officials be brought to justice.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas described the country as a battleground between good and evil, adding that Catholics should not sit on the fence.
“There can be no room for neutrality. Between good and evil, there is no middle ground, and whoever is unwilling to condemn blatant injustice becomes its enabler. Whoever will not indict the thief becomes complicit with him,” he said in a strongly worded pastoral letter issued on Oct. 22.
The prelate said he fully backed a call by doctors for transparency, exigency and accountability in the use of government funds used in the pandemic.
Earlier this month, several medical groups in the Philippines claimed billions of pesos that should have gone towards medical supplies and health worker benefits were misappropriated.
They pointed to one instance where a 12 billion peso ($237 million) contract was awarded by the government to a firm called Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation to purchase equipment such as face masks and shields. Critics said the cost of the equipment was overpriced.
We cannot but be appalled by credible reports about dishonesty, graft and malfeasance in scandalous proportions
“Corruption and a total disregard for decency and morality have begun to permeate the Filipino soul. This is not who we are, but this is what we are going to be unless we do something about it now,” the doctors said in a statement.
Archbishop Villegas described the alleged anomalous transactions as “disgusting” if government officials pocketed billions of pesos at the expense of those who died or were infected by the virus.
“We cannot but be appalled by credible reports about dishonesty, graft and malfeasance in scandalous proportions, particularly because these despicable acts exploited the fears of our people occasioned by the Covid pandemic,” Archbishop Villegas added.
Archbishop Villegas said the Filipino people have been fooled by corrupt officials.
“Held in the grip of dread for the disease that has claimed so many lives, our people, already laid low by the economic privation brought about by the pandemic, were hoodwinked by those who exploited the situation for their profit,” he added.
The prelate urged those who allegedly benefited from the corruption to return the money.
Archbishop Villegas also called on clergymen to educate the conscience of all Catholics not to accept corruption as the norm in government transactions. “One of the saddest things that has befallen us is a dreadful national familiarization with graft and corruption that they no longer shock and disturb us,” he said.
Future generations will look back to this day the seventeenth of October 2021 as a historic milestone in the life of the Church. The Holy Father convokes a General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2023. Because the topic is on the process itself of Synodality, he wishes all the local churches to be involved in the two-year preparation for the said event. He will launch it universally on October 10, 2021 and expects every bishop to launch it in every local church around the world on October 17, 2021. The pre-synodal consultations on the diocesan level will lead to parallel event on the national level (episcopal conference), the continental level (regional federations of episcopal conferences) and the global level (General Assembly in Rome). The Pope believes that the path of synodality is the plan of God for the Church of the third millennium. Let us walk together listening. We grow by listening.
A synod is not just an event; it is a journey. A synod is not just a meeting; it is the life of the Church. A synod is not just an assembly in view of administration; it is a convocation guided by the Spirit for the challenge of mission. St. John Chrysostom aptly said that the “Church and synod are synonymous”.
Two Landscapes
What will happen in the next months? We will gather together in small circles in parishes, schools and basic ecclesial communities to pray together and ask the Spirit to lend us His eyes and mind and heart. We will look at two landscapes not with our eyes but with the eyes of the Lord.
The first is “How is our Church within?” The Pope asks us: “How is this journeying together happening today in our local Church? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together”? How are the shepherds and the shepherded? How is the life of worship brought to the life of charity? How is faith lived and shared? How is our Church discipline and life?
The second is “How is the Church together with the entire human family?” Are we still salt and light for the world? Is dialogue our way of life? How willing are we to listen with humility and respect despite differences? Have we become haughty or insensitive to the groans of suffering humanity?
Many Signs
In looking at the Church from the inside and looking at the Church with the entire human family, we cannot ignore the signs of our times. We are not blind to the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has confronted us with. We cannot disregard the sexual and financial scandals in the Church and in government. We cannot overlook the attraction of secularism and materialism and the double-edged power of the digital world. We cannot brush off the erosion of ethical values and the idolatry of relativism. We are aware of the antipathy and disdain against traditional institutions foremost of which is our Church. The effects of ecological abuse, terror and violence are too glaring to overlook.
Pope Francis attends the concluding ceremony of the Prayer for Peace Meeting organized by the Sant’Egidio Community at Rome’s Colosseum, Oct. 7, 2021. VATICAN MEDIA
By Courtney Mares Catholic News Agency October 8, 2021
VATICAN— Pope Francis asked leaders of world religions to resist “the temptation to fundamentalism” for the sake of peace at an interreligious gathering Thursday in front of the Colosseum.
Peace “summons us to serve the truth and declare what is evil when it is evil, without fear or pretense, even and especially when it is committed by those who profess to follow the same creed as us,” the pope said Oct. 7.
“For the sake of peace, please, in every religious tradition let us defuse the temptation to fundamentalism and every tendency to view a brother or sister as an enemy.”
Speaking on a stage together with Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu representatives, Pope Francis appealed for peace amid the world’s current conflicts.
“Dear brothers and sisters, as believers it is our responsibility to help eradicate hatred from human hearts and to condemn every form of violence. Let us unambiguously urge that arms be set aside and military spending reduced, in order to provide for humanitarian needs, and that instruments of death be turned into instruments of life,” the pope commented.
“Fewer arms and more food, less hypocrisy and more transparency, more vaccines distributed fairly and fewer weapons marketed indiscriminately,” he said.
The pope called prayer a source of strength that “disarms hate-filled hearts.”
Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt, also spoke.
The Islamic scholar, who signed the landmark Document on Human Fraternity with Pope Francis in 2019, criticized the uneven distribution of COVID-19 vaccines throughout the world.
He said that “the world has suffered a setback despite the efforts made by religious institutions, their representatives and leadership, to foster a collaborative approach and exchange of goods, giving precedence to the public interest over private interests.”
Pope Francis was speaking at the live-streamed closing ceremony of “Peoples as Brothers, Future Earth. Religions and Cultures in Dialogue,” the 35th event promoted by the Sant’Egidio Community in the “spirit of Assisi,” the interreligious gathering convened in St. Francis’ birthplace by Pope John Paul II in 1986.
In his address, the pope said: “Today, in a globalized society that sensationalizes suffering, yet remains incapable of sympathizing with it, we need to ‘construct compassion’ … We need to listen to others, make their sufferings our own, and look into their faces.”
“We cannot continue to accept wars with the detachment with which we watch the evening news, but rather make an effort to see them through the eyes of the peoples involved,” he said.
Christian leaders at the event included Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians, Karekin II, leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the German Lutheran Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. The event began with a prayer involving the Christian leaders.
Representatives of world religions at the ceremony included Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the Chief Rabbi of Moscow and president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Shoten Minegishi, a Soto Zen Buddhist monk from Japan, Sayyed Abu al-Qasim al-Dibaji, of the World Pan-Islamic Jurisprudence Organization, and Edith Bruck, a Hungarian-born Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor.
Lakshmi Vyas, president of the Hindu Forum of Europe, and Jaswant Singh, a Sikh representative, also attended.
“As representatives of different religious traditions, all of us are called to resist the lure of worldly power, to be the voice of the voiceless, the support of the suffering, advocates of the oppressed and victims of hatred, people discarded by men and women on earth, yet precious in the sight of the One who dwells in heaven,” the pope said.
Pope Francis said that there was a link between the “dream of peace” and the need to care for creation.
“By cultivating a contemplative and non-predatory approach, the religions are called to listen to the groans of mother earth, which suffers violence,” he said.
The pope suggested that “unbridled individualism and the desire for self-sufficiency” had overflowed into “insatiable greed.”
“The earth we inhabit bears the scars of this, while the air we breathe is rich in toxins but poor in solidarity. We have thus poured the pollution of our hearts upon creation,” he said.
At the gathering Sabera Ahmadi, a young woman recently arrived from Afghanistan, read out an appeal for peace.
“The pandemic has shown how human beings are in the same boat, bound by profound threads. The future does not belong to those who squander and exploit, to those who live for themselves and ignore others,” she said.
“The future belongs to women and men who are in solidarity and to peoples who are brothers. May God help us to rebuild the common human family and to respect mother earth. In front of the Colosseum, symbol of greatness but also of suffering, let us reaffirm with the strength of faith that the name of God is peace.”
Also speaking at the event was Angela Merkel, who is due to step down as Germany’s chancellor following federal elections on Sept. 26. She had a private audience with the pope on the morning of Oct. 7.
The 67-year-old, who has led the European Union’s most populous nation since 2005, has been a frequent visitor to the Vatican since Pope Francis’ election in 2013.
The pope described the Lutheran pastor’s daughter as “one of the great figures of world politics” in an interview last month. He has received Merkel in private audience more often than any other head of state.
The two leaders spoke privately for about 45 minutes before exchanging gifts. The pope gave Merkel a small bronze image of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica along with copies of his writings. She gave him three volumes on the Bible and a book about Michelangelo.
In what is expected to be her farewell visit as chancellor, Merkel also met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and “foreign minister” Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
The Holy See press office said that “during the cordial discussions, appreciation was expressed for the good existing bilateral relations and the fruitful collaboration between the Holy See and Germany.”
It added: “The parties then turned their attention to matters of mutual interest in the international and regional spheres, agreeing on the advisability of relaunching cooperation to address the multiple crises underway, with particular reference to the consequences of the health emergency and migration.”
In his address outside of the Colosseum, Pope Francis said: “Yes, let us dream of religions as sisters and peoples as brothers! Sister religions to help peoples be brothers and sisters living in peace, reconciled stewards of creation, our common home.”
