Vol. 14 No. 14
July 5 – July 18, 2010
Php 20.
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Court junks appeal to halt sex education in schools
Fr. Bernas on Arroyo’s Cha-cha move:
‘Humorous’
FORMER President Gloria Arroyo only
showed her funny side when she led a
bill seeking for Constitutional amend-ments, a priest said. Constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas said it’s “humorous” that Arroyo herself is seeking Charter Change (Cha-cha)
just a day after she began her rst day
as Pampanga’s 2nd District Represen-tative.While he has nothing against amend-ing the Charter, Bernas said Arroyo’s move is “too early” as process for it should not be initiated until next year. Arroyo and her son, Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo, co-authored House Resolution 8 which calls for Cha-cha through a constitutional convention (Con-con).“Not for now. Eventually, I think, we will have Charter Change. I hope it’s a Con-Con not earlier than 2011,” said Bernas.The Jesuit priest, who is also the Dean Emeritus of the Ateneo Law School, is one of the authors of the 1987 Constitu-tion.According to him, amending the Charter should not be made yet espe-cially since President Benigno Aquino III has just been sworn recently.Bernas noted that Filipinos are still euphoric over the entry of a new ad-ministration after Arroyo’s nine-year AFTER a three-day meeting on the pastoral opportunities in communications technology, bishops from Spain and Portugal are calling for “creativity and apostolic audacity” in bringing Christ to the media.The prelates’ meeting last week was attended
by the president of the Pontical Council for
Social Communications, Archbishop Claudio Celli.In the conclusions of their meeting, the bishops noted how Benedict XVI’s recent visit to Portugal brought encouragement for a “more profound evangelization of our society, which has one of its most important challenges in the realm of culture and com-munication.” They expressed hope that his upcoming two trips to Spain would bring the same message.
The prelates afrmed an intention to join
forces with media professionals and those who use this venue for social relationships.They declared “their desire to carry out the evangelizing mission of the Church in the theater of the digital world, which they con-sider an opportunity where priests, religious and laypeople, educators and catechists must be more involved, in particular, the youngest and ‘natives’ on the Net, putting the new tech-nologies of communication at the service of the
Gov’t officials, judiciary told to strive for integrity
The Cross
A Supplement Publication of KC Life and the Order of the Knights of Columbus
A3
‘Women ... Are Dynamic Agents of Development’
Groups laud signing of Mining ban
VARIOUS groups led by the Church hailed the signing of Environment code that bans open pit mining throughout the province of South Cotabato.Outgoing South Cotabato Governor Dai-sy Avance-Fuentes has signed the contro-versial code that outlaw open pit mining, a method of extracting rocks or minerals from the earth by creating a trench. “It is a victory of the people” said Sr. Susan Bolanio, OND, spokesperson
CBCP appeals to Aquino: Implement IP Rights Act properly
AN Episcopal commission of the Catholic Bish-ops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has called on President-elect Benigno Aquino III for the proper implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) or RA 8371.“More than 12 years since its passage in 1997, many IP communities are still facing discrimination and their rights are not being recognized,” the Episcopal Commission on
Groups / A6Appeals / A6Gov’t / A6Fr. Bernas / A6
New iPad application won’t replace liturgical books, creator says
Listen to the CBCP Online Radio at: www.cbcponlineradio.com
By Roy Lagarde
GOVERNMENT ofcials and
members of the judiciary have been urged to strive for pro-fessionalism and integrity of their services.
Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales made
the call while ofciating at the “Red
Mass” attended by President Benigno Aquino III and ranking leaders of the judiciary at the Manila Cathedral. Rosales said judges, magistrates and
all public ofcials are supposed to up
-hold laws that are just and ensure that justice prevail in society. They, the Manila archbishop said, must exhibit high sense of integrity,
ethics, efciency and selessness in the
discharge of their duties. In his homily, Rosales said that in a country where there are more people
than afuent citizens, justice necessar
-ily becomes the “equalizer” available to the poor, especially when the rights to a graft-free service and honest gov-ernance are violated. “An unjust law, if ever there was one, or granted that we have only just
© R o y L a g a r d e / C B C P M e d i a © R o y L a g a r d e / C B C P M e d i a
Bishops present 13-point agenda for President Aquino
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A QUEZON City Court denied an appeal of a group of Catholic parents seeking to stop the teach-ing of sex education in public schools.The ruling was released Monday by Judge Rosan-na Fe Romero-Maglaya of the Regional Trial Court Branch 88.Around 30 parents, last month, filed a petition before the court for a tem-porary restraining order on the implementation of sex education. Led by Atty. Jo Im-
Prelates Call for ‘Apostolic Audacity’ in Media
bong, lawyer of the Catholic Bishops’ Con-ference of the Philip-pines, the petitioners said the program was unconstitutional, and violates their rights to be responsible for the de-velopment of children’s moral character.Along with represen-tatives of Catholic politi-cal party Ang Kapatiran, Imbong went to court on June 21 seeking to stop the pilot testing of the program funded by the United Nations Popula-tion Fund.But the court said the petitioners failed to show proof that their rights were violated as the par-ents were unable to show that their children were studying in schools where the program would be pi-lot tested.Reacting to the rul-ing, Imbong said she is not unfazed, adding that the court decision “is not a setback” to their campaign against sex education. “That is only a denial proclamation of Jesus Christ with creativity and apostolic audacity.”
Not enough
The prelates observed that “praiseworthy theoretical considerations” are not enough to evangelize through information technology, and called instead for “projects and deeds, al-locating to it the necessary material, technical and human resources.”“The new technologies not only offer the Church great advantages for improved pas-toral management, but are also privileged
means to benet from their goods and services, without neglecting to appreciate rst of all per
-sonal, family and community meeting,” they contended. “Favored in this way is ecclesial communion and new ways of relations are pro-moted with all those who seek a transcendent meaning for their lives, yearning for truth and the realization of the good.”The bishops recommended that future priests be prepared to evangelize through the media, and they urged parents and educators to guide even the very young in the “correct use of the new technologies [...] so that they
prove benecial to the person and to society
and foster the search for Truth, Goodness and Beauty.”
(Zenit)
Bishop / A6
Illustration by Bladimer Usi
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of restraining order. It does not go to the merit that is only above the ur-gency. In an order of the court it does not go to the merit,” she said.The CBCP lawyer said the case will still push through in court. In fact, she said, a hearing on the case is set to be held within this month. She added that more parents are planning to
le more charges against
the program of the De-partment of Education.
(CBCPNews)
Catholic bishops greet President Benigno Aquino and Vice President Jejomar Binay after the country’s rst-ever “Red Mass” at the Manila Cathedral, July 7, 2010. The liturgical activity was also attended by ranking members of the judiciary led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
SOME Catholic bishops pre-sented on June 30 a 13-point agenda that President Benigno Aquino III should address in his administration.The bishops said the Arroyo administration had failed to attend to many social issues so they hope that Aquino would give it utmost priority.The agenda composed of the positions of the church on certain issues long tackled in CBCP Pas-toral Statements was presented in a press conference after a Mass held at the Manila Cathedral few hours before Aquino took his
oath of ofce.
“The CBCP insists 13 point advocacies as guidance to Presi-dent Benigno Simeon Aquino
III when he assumes ofce for
moral and social transforma-tion of the country especially the poor,” said Bishop Teodoro Bacani.On top of the church’s list is the implementation of land reform through Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with extension and reform (CARP-er).
The church ofcials demanded
the rejection of the controversial reproductive health bill, same sex union, abortion, divorce, eu-thanasia and contraceptives.They urged Aquino not to
Atty. Jo ImbongBp. Bacani answers questions from the media during a press conference at the Manila Cathedral, June 30.










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Vol. 14 No. 14
July 5 – July 18, 2010
CBCP Monitor
World News
w w w . r n w . n l w w w . c a t h o l i c n e w s a g e n c y . c o m
L’AQUILA, Italy, July 4, 2010—The Holy Father dedicated his
Sunday homily to reections on
the life of St. Celestine as he visit-ed the Italian city where the relics of the 13th century saint and Pope
are kept. In a message lled with
lessons on life, the Pope espe-cially highlighted the importance
of silence to nding God, the fact
that faith is a gift and the lasting power of holiness.Pope Benedict XVI began his pastoral visit to Sulmona, Italy
by ying over the grotto, now a
hermitage, where Peter of Mor-rone spent years in contempla-tion and prayer as a monk. Peter later became Pope Celestine V and was canonized relatively shortly after his death. St. Ce-lestine’s life is being celebrated this year, declared by the Pope a “Jubilee Year” for the 800th anni-versary since the saint’s birth.In his words during the Eucha-ristic Celebration in the open air of the city square, Pope Benedict XVI remembered the St. Celes-tine as a “seeker of God,” a man who turned to interior and exte-rior silence in his life as a hermit to perceive His voice.This example is important also for us today, said the Pope, as “we live in a society in which ev-ery space, every moment seems
like it must be lled by initia
-tives, by activities, by sounds; often there isn’t even time for listening and speaking.“Dear brothers and sisters,” he said, “if we wish to be able not only to perceive the voice of God, but also that of who is alongside of us, of others, let us not be afraid to create silence outside and inside of ourselves.”Benedict XVI added that the hermit’s “discovery of the Lord” was not a product of his own efforts, “but it was made pos-sible by the very Grace of God, that precedes it (...) everything essential in our existence has been given without our contri-bution.”And it is for this very reason, he explained, that “we must be aware, keeping our ‘interior eyes,’ those of our hearts, always open. And if we learn to know God in his infinite goodness, then we will be able also to see, with amazement, in our lives - as the saints (have) - signs of the God that is ever near to us, is al-ways good to us, (and) who says to us: ‘Have faith in me!’”Remembering the lasting qual-ity of St. Celestine’s holy life, Pope Benedict said that “holi-ness, in fact, never loses its attractive force, it does not fall into oblivion, it never goes out of style; actually, with the pass-ing of time, it shines with ever greater brightness...”The Holy Father concluded his homily by making an exhorta-
tion that we remain rm in the
faith we have received, “which gives sense to life and gives us the strength to love.”
(CNA)
Pope: Holiness never goes out of style
VATICAN CITY, July 2, 2010—World Youth Day isn’t just another big event, says Benedict XVI, but rather a “privileged occasion” for youth to encounter the love of ChristThe Pope said this today upon receiving in audience a delegation of the sponsors of the next international youth day, which is set to take place Aug. 16-21, 2011, in Madrid, Spain.The delegation was led by Cardinal Antonio María Rou-co, the archbishop of Madrid, and included members of the Foundation Madrid Vivo.“There are many young people who have their eyes
xed on that beautiful city,
with the joy of being able to meet there in a few months to hear together the Word of Christ, which is always young, and to be able to share the faith that unites us and the desire they have of building a better world, inspired in the values of the Gospel,” the Pontiff said in a short greeting.“I invite you all to continue to collaborate generously in this beautiful initiative,” he continued, “which is not a simple multitudinous meet-ing, but a privileged occasion for the young people of your
Benedict XVI: Youth Days not just big events
MADRID, Spain, July 2, 2010—With 409 days re-maining before the World Youth Day celebrations open in Madrid, the organizers of the event are reporting that over 600,000 pilgrims from countries outside Spain have pre-registered to take part in the week-long encounter with the Holy Father.The event, which will take place in Madrid from August 16-21, 2011, is a week long journey of faith and solidar-ity for young people around the world. The large international gathering occurs every three years, and culminates with vespers, an overnight vigil and an outdoor Mass celebrated by the Pope.So far, organizers report that 120,000 Italians, 70,000 French, 50,000 Poles and 25,000 North Americans have signed up for the event. The majority of the pilgrims have signed up in groups, whether it be from their diocese, youth group, parish, or other organization.Each pilgrim is required to pay a registration fee based on their country of origin, the length of their stay and the services they will require.
Though part of the fee will help nance the event, a part of each pilgrim’s reg
-istration fee will be set aside in a “solidarity fund” which will help pay the cost of the trip and their stay for those who would not otherwise be able to afford it.World Youth Day “is not for the rich, but rather for everyone, for those who come from Madagascar and from the south of Latin America.” said Bishop Cesar Franco, an auxiliary bishop in Madrid. He underlined the necessity of the 10 Euro contribution to the “solidarity fund” which has been added to each pilgrim’s registration. In this sense he said, they have appealed to the youth to be “generous.”Registration this year is taking place online. The website www.madrid11.
com was designed by ISBAN, with the nancial support of various Spanish
institutions. At the end of the event, the Archdiocese of Madrid will make a gift of the system to the Vatican, in the hopes that it can be used to help organize future pilgrimages. The system, which features a two-layer page, will collect personal information via a secure connection in order to help the archbishop and coordinators know more about the pilgrims and their needs in order to better serve them.Though registration is not required to participate in all the events, the organi-zation behind WYD Madrid 2011 is hoping to register at least 40 percent of the people who will attend. They are also projecting that the event will draw a crowd that is 15 percent larger than those of previous World Youth Days.
(CNA)
Pope looks forward to occasion provided for international youth in WYD 2011
ROME, Italy, July 2, 2010—The Holy Father met on Friday with the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid Antonio Maria Rouco Varela and sponsors working for the success of World Youth Day 2011. The Pope explained the importance of next August’s encounter of youth during the audience after which WYD 2011’s executive director briefed jour-nalists on the planning process.Many of the 55 people present for the audience with the Pope on Friday were from the “Madrid Vivo” Founda-tion, founded by the cardinal and local businessmen last year to “seek solutions to the moral roots of the economic cri-sis” and to make the city more aware of values.Yago de la Cierva, executive director and spokesman for WYD 2011 explained to journalists in the Holy See’s Press Of-
ce that the major aim of the foundation
at the moment is collaboration with the organizers of the next World Youth Day, to be held in the Spanish capital.During Friday’s audience with them in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, Pope-Benedict XVI invited the members of “Madrid Vivo” to continue their gener-ous collaboration for this “beautiful ini-tiative,” saying that it’s not just a simple meeting of the masses, “but a privileged occasion so that the young people of your country and of the entire world may let themselves be ‘conquered’ by the love of Christ Jesus...”He noted that there are many young people looking forward to the encounter to be held from Aug. 16-21 of next year, where they will meet to “listen together to the Word of Christ, ever young, and be able to share the faith that unites them and the desire that they have to build a better world, inspired in the values of the Gospel.”Mr.de la Cierva said that after the audience the Pope signed a registration
form as the rst pilgrim for WYD2011.
He also mentioned that plans are mov-ing forward smoothly for the encounter for which Cardinal Rouco Varela expects more than two million participants, including more than 600,000 youth will come from outside of Spain.Among the broad cross-section of details he provided regarding the complexities of the considerations that go into planning for the”Day” and the variety of charitable contributions they have received, the executive director explained that planners are making extensive use of social networks to get feedback from youth and give them a greater say in decisions regarding the initiative.To reach out to youth, the organizing committee has 70 volunteers working online in 17 different languages. Mr. de la Cierva said proudly that their Facebook page just welcomed their
111,111th “friend,” a “signicant” mile
-stone for WYD 2011.
(CNA)
Youth registered for WYD Madrid at 600,000 so far
True freedom is in acknowledging dependence on God, says Archbishop Dolan
Catholic faithful to celebrate witness of 120 Chinese Martyrs
country and of the whole world to let themselves be conquered by the love of Christ Jesus, Son of God and of Mary, the faithful friend, the conqueror of sin and death.”“Whoever trusts in him is never disappointed, but
nds the necessary strength
to choose the right path in life,” he added.The Foundation Madrid Vivo was created in Novem-ber to support World Youth Day 2011. It is composed of Spanish business leaders, including the presidents of the largest banks in Spain.
(Zenit)
Calls them ‘privileged occasions’ to fnd Christ
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., July 4, 2010—As Americans across the country celebrate the nation’s In-dependence Day this weekend, they should humbly remember their dependence on their Cre-ator, said Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York.In a column written this week,
he reected on the celebration of
Independence Day and called on the faithful to proclaim a “spiri-tual Declaration of Dependence” on God that is “downright revo-lutionary” in American society today.The archbishop then spoke of the false contemporary un-derstanding of freedom “as the right to do whatever we want, whenever we want, wherever we want, however we want, with whomever we want.” Our culture has lost the true under-standing of freedom as “the liberty to do what we ought,” he said.He observed the modern trend of “freeing” oneself from “any sense of obedience to God, His revelation and the basic code of right and wrong He has en-graved upon the human heart.”This false understanding of freedom has devastating conse-quences, he continued. “The Ten Commandments become a list of suggestions, the Eight Beatitudes a set of nice ideas, the Bible mere literature, the Church unneces-sary, religion a crutch for the unenlightened, objective truth an outmoded oppression.”By adopting this distorted mindset, we elevate ourselves to the level of gods, the arch-bishop said. This is evident in today’s culture, which claims dominion over life in matters such as abortion, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research, he explained. Focused on consump-tion and convenience, the culture
presumes to re-dene marriage and family as it sees t, revels in
violence in its movies and music and resorts to war and terrorism without regard to the demands of morality.This phenomenon is “curi-ous,” Archbishop Dolan said, be-cause the very culture declaring itself independent of God and morality has become “terribly dependent” on “money, insur-ance, gas, weapons, security systems or even upon alcohol, pornography, lust, gambling and drugs.”The archbishop contrasted this false sense of freedom with the true independence that the founders of America fought so adamantly to gain.“The patriots who won inde-pendence for us in 1776 had no trouble at all acknowledging their total dependence upon God,” he said. “In fact, the normative documents of our beloved country presume the existence of a providential God, objective truth, moral duty and the right to life itself.”This acknowledgment of total dependence on God is something we must preserve, he said. We must boldly ad-mit to the world “that every breath we take, each day we have, every opportunity we are given, come from an om-nipotent God.”Offering a courageous witness to a hostile culture, we should “bask in the fact that we are totally dependent upon Him,” the archbishop said. “He is sov-ereign, He is Lord, He has power and dominion.”Emphasizing Christ’s teaching that “the Truth shall make you free,” Archbishop Dolan invited the faithful to take seriously the words they pray at every Sunday Mass: “We believe in God, the Father Almighty...” Recalling a comment from Cardinal Fran-cis George, he explained that this opening line of the creed is “perhaps the most revolutionary statement we can make these days.”
(CNA)
VATICAN CITY, July 4, 2010—On Friday, July 9, the Church will celebrate the feast of the 120 Martyrs of China. Religious persecution has a long history in China, especially persecution of Christians, thousands of whom have died for their faith in the last millennium.On October 1, 2000, Pope John Paul II canon-ized 120 men, women, and children who gave their lives for the faith in China between the years 1648 and 1930. The martyrs include 87 native Chinese and 33 foreign missionaries. The majority were killed during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900.“Chinese men and women of every age and state, priests, religious and lay people, showed the same conviction and joy, sealing their un-
failing delity to Christ and the Church with the
gift of their lives,” said the Holy Father during the canonization.“Resplendent in this host of martyrs are also the 33 missionaries who left their land and sought to immerse themselves in the Chinese world, lovingly assimilating its features in the desire to proclaim Christ and to serve those people.”Of the 33 foreign-born missionaries, most were priests and religious, including mem-bers of the Order of Preachers, Friars Minor, Jesuits, Salesians and Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.One of the more well-known native martyrs was a 14-year-old Chinese girl named Ann Wang, who was killed during the Boxer Rebel-lion when she refused to apostasize. She bravely withstood the threats of her torturers, and just as she was about to be beheaded, she radiantly declared, “The door of heaven is open to all” and repeated the name of Jesus three times. Another of the martyrs was 18-year-old Chi Zhuzi, who had been preparing to receive the sacrament of Baptism when he was caught on the road one night and ordered to worship idols. He refused to do so, revealing his belief in Christ. His right arm was cut off and he was tortured, but he would not deny his faith. Rather, he fearlessly pronounced to his captors,
before being ayed alive, “Every piece of my esh, every drop of my blood will tell you that
I am Christian.”
Augustine Zhao Rong was the rst native
Chinese priest to become a martyr. Born in 1746, he was served as one of the soldiers who escorted Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse to his martyrdom in Beijing. The witness of the bishop led Augustine to seek baptism at age 30.
He was ordained a priest ve years later and
was martyred in 1815.During the canonization Mass, Pope John Paul II thanked God for blessing the Church with the heroic witness of the 120 martyrs, whom he called “an example of courage and consistency to us all.”
(CNA)
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Vol. 14 No. 14
July 5 – July 18, 2010
CBCP Monitor
News Features
w w w . a m d g . i e
L’AQUILA, Italy, July 4, 2010—Before leadin g the Angelus prayer from the Italian city of Sulmona he visited on Sunday, the Holy Father proposed Mary as “the perfect model of obe-dience to the divine will.” He hoped also for increased appre-ciation of the simple life, as St. Celestine lived it, and the subse-quent freedom of heart and mind that opens us up to sharing.During the visit for the occa-sion of the 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Celestine, the Holy Father led thousands of faithful in the recitation of the Marian prayer after Mass in the town square.He prayed that the people of God would be able to “walk joy-ously and united on the path of faith, hope and love” and that, “faithful to the inheritance of St. Celestine, we may always know how to put evangelical radicality and mercy together, so that all who seek God may find him.”St. Celestine was a13th cen-tury hermit that became Pope Celestine V. His remains are now housed in the crypt of Sulmona’s Cathedral of San Panfilo, where Benedict XVI will pay a visit Sunday afternoon to host an en-counter with area youth.Turning to Mary, “Virgin of si-lence and of listening,” Benedict XVI said that, in her, St. Celes-tine “found the perfect model of obedience to the divine will,” as he lived a simple and humble life, seeking the “truly essential” and thanking the Lord always as he recognized “in everything the gift of His goodness.”Turning to the present, the Pope said “also we, who live in an age of greater comforts and possibilities, are called to ap-preciate a sober lifestyle, to keep our hearts and minds freer and to be able to share our possessions with our brothers.”He prayed that “Holy Mary, who encouraged the first com-munity of disciples of Jesus with her maternal presence, help also the Church of today to give good witness to the Gospel.”Following the Angelus prayer the Pope met with the bishops of the local Abruzzo region for lunch at a newly restored house for elderly and sick priests inaugurated as the “Benedict XVI” house. After lunch he was scheduled to meet with a delega-tion from the local prison
. (CNA/ EWTN News)
Papal spokesman describes week of Benedict XVI’s evangelical witness to the Gospel
VATICAN CITY, June 30, 2010—Are Catholics soon going to see their par-ish priest celebrating Mass with an iPad instead of traditional liturgical books?That’s the impression left by recent reports about Italian Father Paolo Padrini’s planned launch of an iPad ap-plication that features the Roman Mis-sal on its 10-inch screen. But Fr. Padrini
and church ofcials say no one should
throw the printed books out yet.“Liturgical books on the altar will never be replaced by the iPad. This is an additional instrument, not an attempt to get rid of paper books,” Father Padrini said in late June.“If I went on vacation, I’d take along my iPad and celebrate Mass that way. Obviously in my parish, where I have the books, I’m not going to deliber-ately use an iPad,” he said.The application should be ready by the end of July and will feature the Roman Missal in various languages, including English, French, Italian, Latin and Spanish. It loads the missal and breviary, or book of prayers, for a particular day, with the option of pre-loading up to 10 days worth of texts.Father Padrini said that for the English version, he plans to use the missal text as currently approved for use in the United States. But he ap-parently has not yet nailed down the necessary permissions.Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth, executive director of the International Committee on English in the Liturgy, said June 25 that Father Padrini currently had not re-ceived authorization to publish English liturgical texts as digital “applications.”
“We are trying to nd a way forward
in this situation and are currently in consultation with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding the matter. I imagine that it will take some time to reach a solution which is equally sat-isfactory to all the parties concerned,” Msgr. Wadsworth said in a statement to Catholic News Service.Father Padrini did not run his idea past the Vatican’s liturgical experts, presum-ing that there should not be a problem.“As far as I can see, there is no litur-gical rule saying a printed instrument must be used. The rules do say the lit-
urgy should be dignied and tting and
should not be disturbed,” he said.In Father Padrini’s opinion, the small iPad would not detract from the liturgical decorum, and would be less noticeable than other objects placed on the altar these days.
But Vatican ofcials were not so
certain that an iPad belongs on the altar.Marist Father Anthony Ward, an undersecretary at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, said liturgical rules generally refer to “the book,” and there’s been an effort in recent years “to promote the book, and the embellishment of the book.” The idea of having a substitute for the book at public Masses seems to go against that consensus, he said.Father Ward said the congregation
wasn’t specically considering the
suitability of the iPad application, and that there didn’t appear to be explicit rules against such devices. But he added that in this case, one should not assume that if it is not forbidden, it is allowed.
The nal judgment on the iPad-as-
missal may come with experience. Father Padrini said he thinks the shock effect will disappear as more people carry such devices around with them.“The liturgy should be beautiful. But personally, I’d rather celebrate Mass with an iPad, which is small and doesn’t disturb the faithful, than with an old, worn-out missal with yellow pages and small type,” he said.
(CNS)
New iPad application won’t re-place liturgical books, creator says
ANTIPOLO CITY, June 26, 2010—A leader of a labor group based on Middle East had criticized the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for its alleged failure to prevent contract substitution, especially for workers working in the Mid-east.In his statement to media, John Leon-ard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said that almost 30 to 50 percent of the cases of abuse
that their ofces in different countries
in the oil-rich region, involve contract substitution. Migrante-ME receives an average of seven to 10 cases of abuses daily.“Contract substitution is an act of re-placing the existing contract, which was signed by the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in the Philippines, mostly given by their respective recruitment agencies, by their foreign employers. In the new contract, the salaries and wages are usu-
ally much lower than the rst contract, and the other benets are either deleted
or reduced, for example the health in-surance provision had been removed, or the hours of work had been extended,” Monterona explained. He added that the employers are forc-ing the worker to sign the contract, or else they will be out of work.“Many have told us that they have been forced to sign a new set of contracts before their departure at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, while others said upon their arrival on the job site facilitated by the counterpart agency of the deploying agency in the Philippines,” Monterona said.Monterona also added that the origi-nal employment contract is intended to protect OFWs labor rights as set forth in the terms and conditions of employ-ment, but the moment a new contract with different terms and conditions un-favorable to the OFWs has been forged without the knowledge of the OFWs or by force they have been told to sign it, then it is putting OFWs employment at risks even before their deployment.Meanwhile, Monterona accused some DOLE and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)
ofcials of conniving with recruitment
agencies that allow contract substitu-tion.
(Noel Sales Barcelona)
RP labor dep’t criticized for failure to stop contract substitution
Religious group assails violent dispersal of farmers
Pope Benedict calls Mary a ‘perfect model’ of obedience to divine will
s i . w s j . n e t
VATICAN CITY, July 3, 2010—Pope Benedict XVI’s “exquisitely evangelical witness” this week show his “personal and direct com-mitment” to creating communion in the Church, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi has said, citing the Holy Father’s launch of a new evangelization of the West and his action to reconcile disputes and to renew the Church.During his “Octava Dies” editorial aired on Vatican Television on Saturday morning, Fr. Lombardi remarked that in recent days the words and actions of the Pope have been “exceptionally intense and determinant for the life of the Church community.”The activity of the Pope, he continued, has been made more meaningful due to its proximity to the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. This is a feast which brings our attention back to the mission “entrusted by Christ to Peter and his successors” to support and guide the faith of believers, he explained.For Fr. Lombardi, the announcement of the new Vatican depart-ment for renewed evangelization of areas subject to secularization stands out among the Pope’s activities this week. However, he particularly wanted to highlight the pontiff’s “personal and direct commitment to the union of the Church community.”“The Pope has repeated many times that the dangers and the gravest temptations for the Church come from within,” pointed out ANTIPOLO CITY, July 4, 2010—Sociopastoral organization, Promotion of Church Peoples’ Response (PCRR) has assailed the violent dispersal of 42 farm-ers doing a camp-out along the Chino Roces (Mendiola) Bridge, in Manila. The farmers from Hacienda Yulo in Laguna and the con-troversial Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, owned by the Cojuangco clan, have been for three days camping out along Chino Roces asking government to act on the issue of land reform. “We have learned that the farmers led by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas staged a camp-out to press the new-ly-installed administration of President Noynoy Aquino lll to take immediate step on the long standing issue of genuine land reform. Tillers from nearby provinces including of the Haci-enda Luisita have participated in the said camp-out,” the PCPR statement read.According to reports, the joint contingent of the Office of the Engineering Department of the City of Manila and the Manila Police had allegedly brutally harassed and dispersed the camp-out of the farmers July 3, at 3:30 pm (Manila Time) and arrested 38 farmers and four of their supporters, injuring some 13 people. As of this yesterday, those ar-rested were illegally detained at the police headquarters at UN Avenue, Manila.“The said incidence shows the constant policy of the state in bearing complaining citizens. The same atrocities and violence had been the method of the Ar-royo administration to silent her critics,” the PCPR statement furthered.PCPR also said that this is a “too early a revelation of Aquino Administration who is on its 3rd day in power. “It has paraded its harsh-ness and non concern of the peasants’ plight. While the “wang-wang” issue has been addressed, the issue of land reform must be considered as an urgent agendum because it is a matter of life and death for the Filipino people. The PCPR joins different sectors in denouncing another violence against toiling masses and calls the faithful to work for justice and peace for our nation,” the PCPR statement further said.
(Noel Sales Barcelona)
MANILA, July 1, 2010—In his inaugural speech, the 50-year old bachelor vowed to “serve and not to lord over” the people because the mandate given him was one of change, as he accepted the people’s march-ing orders to transform the government from one that he described as self-serving to “one that works for the welfare of the nation.” Aquino said good governance “would lessen the people’s prob-lems” adding that the destiny of the Filipino will return to its rightful place, and over the next six years, the Filipinos’ problems will continue to lessen with the assurance of progress in their lives. As in previous inaugural speeches by former Philippine chief executives, most Filipinos remain hopeful the late Presi-dent Corazon C. Aquino’s son would be able to deliver as most Filipinos doubted the victory of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the 2004 presi-dential elections. However, one of the chal-lenges Aquino should face is the grinding poverty in many areas of the archipelago where one third of its 90 million or so population live on just one US dollar a day. Catholic bishops have said the country’s poverty is closely linked with graft and corrupt practices of people in govern-ment.
Violence in Mindanao
Aquino will have to address too what has been described as “high level of localized vio-lence” especially in Mindanao, in Southern Philippines where government troops are fight-ing separatists and communist guerillas. He was earlier quoted he would pursue peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front with the appointment of a cabinet secretary for the peace process, but MILF Vice Chairman Chazali Jaafar said
he would like to listen to specic
announcements from the presi-dential palace. It has been said there are over a hundred private armies across the country, a great number of them being kept by powerful politicians who usually align themselves with whoever is in power.
‘Alleviate poverty’
Earlier in the day, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales presided over a concelebrated Mass at the Basilica Minore of the Immaculate Conception, a kilometer and a half away from the Quirino Grandstand where the inaugural rites took place. In his homily, the 77-year old archbishop said “the greater number of our countrymen who are poor appeal to us now to use ‘sight”, and not ‘statistics’ be-cause statistics can still hide the truth of mass poverty and much hunger through numbers.” He added that “the attempt to build buildings that reach up to the skies cannot hide the millions of slums, cardboard houses, cart homes and the misery of the great majority.”
(Melo M. Acuña)
Aquino vows good governance
Papal spokesman / A7