CBCP Monitor Vol. 19 No. 2

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PROTAGONIST OF TRUTH, PROMOTER OF PEACE

Pope reminds laity:‘Show concern for

environment’

WITH the effects of climate changethreatening the world, Pope Francison Sunday called on the Filipino faith-

ful to take care of the environment,reminding them of their role as re-sponsible stewards of God’s creation.

“This is not only because this coun-

try, more than many others, is likelyto be seriously affected by climatechange. You are called to care for cre-

ation, not only as responsible citizens, but also as followers of Christ!” thePope said in his undelivered speechduring his youth encounter at the

University of Santo Tomas.

Caring for the ‘beautiful land’The Holy Father reiterated the

call of the Catholic Bishops’ Confer-ence of the Philippines (CBCP) on

environmental stewardship, urgingthe faithful to think about “the moraldimension of our activities and life-

SUPPLEMENT ISSUE THE CROSS: A SUPPLEMENT PUBLICATION OF KCFAPI AND THE ORDER OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

Spiritual tears: Why Pope

Francis makes people cry, A3

January 19 - February 1, 2015

CBCPMONITOR.COM [email protected]

CBCP

WHAT’S INSIDE

Environment / A7

Kiss for Sabrielle, Pope

Francis picked her out from

a sea of faces, A3

The poor is at the center

of the Gospel, B1

Pope to faithful: Corruptionis a plague that robs, killsBy Jennifer M. Orillaza

POPE Francis on Monday lam-basted corruption as a “plague”

that destroys both societal andecclesiastical institutions, urg-ing the faithful to pray for thosewho have fallen into the trap ofcorrupt acts and practices.

“Corruption is taking from thepeople. The corrupt person who does

corrupt deals or governs corruptlyor associates himself with others inorder to do corrupt deals robs thepeople,” the Holy Father said, answer-

ing the question raised by journalists

onboard the papal flight back to

Rome from the Philippines.“Corruption is not closed in on

itself; it goes out and kills,” he added.The Holy Father added that en-

couraged by complexity of today’sinstitutions, corruption has becomea normal way-of-life for most people.

“Today, corruption is a worldwide

problem…It is the order of the dayin today’s world, and the corrupt at-titude easily and immediately finds

a nest in the institutions,” he said.

Corruption, a ‘plague’Recognizing corrupt practices

committed within the Church, Pope

Francis called on the faithful to pray

for the forgiveness of church people who have engaged into greedy actsand practices.

“Does corruption happen easily?

Let’s remember this—Sinners, yes.Corrupt, no. Never corrupt,” he said.

“We must ask pardon for those

Catholics, those Christians whoscandalize with their corruption. Itis a plague,” he added.

The Holy Father likened corrup-

tion to a “wound” that destroys theChurch.

“When we speak of corruption, we

speak either of corrupt persons or ofinstitutions in the Church that fall into

corruption,” he said. “It’s a wound in theChurch. But there are so many saints

and sinner saints, but not corrupt.”

Reject corruption

In his message to Filipinos deliv-ered at the Malacañang Palace lastFriday, the Pontiff urged the faithful

to “reject every form of corruption which divert s resource s from thepoor, and to make concerted effortsto ensure the inclusion of every man

and woman and child in the life of thecommunity.”

He noted the need to rebuild the

foundations of the Philippine society based on solid human values, dignity,

and rights to prepare the countryfrom facing the many political and

ethical issues surrounding it.“The Philippines…faces the chal-

lenge of building on solid founda-

tions a modern society–a society re-spectful of authentic human values,protective of our God-given humandignity and rights, and ready to

confront new and complex politicaland ethical questions,” the Pope said.

“As many voices in your nation

have pointed out, it is now, more thanever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrityand commitment to the common

good,” he added.

Reflect on papal visit messages,Tagle urges Filipinos WITH the Pope’s visit over, where do we gofrom here?

In answer to this, Manila Archbishop

Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle encouraged theCatholic faithful to spend time to meditateon the messages of the Pope Francis through

silence and prayer.“May I recommend first of all that we

spend time relishing the event. The event is sodeep—so deep. There is so much to reflect on,

so much to pray over, so much to learn. And itis only in meditation, in prayer, in silence, that we can really get to the depths of the profound

meaning of this event,” he said.

Papal visit impactIn a press briefing after the departure of

the Holy Father back to Rome, Tagle saidPope Francis’ visit to the country will have a

Mindanaoans ‘virtually’ participate inpapal visit

Pope meets PH’s religious leadersSOME of the groups most vocalabout their admiration and re-spect for Pope Francis are thoseof religious leaders of other

faiths and denominations. Theyare probably doubly happy withthe rare meeting of the pontiff

with inter-religious leaders before the Youth Encounter,at the University of Sto. Tomasheld last Jan. 18.

Ten leaders, who are ac-

tive in ecumenical activities, were chosen to briefly meetthe Holy Father at 9:45

a.m. at the iconic Arch of theCenturies, a monument onthe campus grounds, some

15 meters away from theUniversity’s main vehicularentrance along España Bou-levard.

The meeting with the in-

ter-religious leaders signifiedgoodwill and unity among allfaithful.

The leaders tapped by the

Catholic Bishops’ Conferenceof the Philippines-Episcopal

Commission on Interreli-gious Dialogue (CBCP-ECID), who met with Pope are: Nuncio thanks Pinoys for

‘best hospitality’ for Pope

THE Apostolic Nuncio to the Phil-

ippines said the Holy Father and

the authorities in the Vatican havereceived the widest collaboration

and “best hospitality” everywhere

they went during Pope Francis’

five-day visit to the country.

Pope gives PH atlas amidongoing territorial disputes

ALTHOUGH disappointed that Pope Franciscould not visit Mindanao during his brief stayin the Philippines, the Catholic faithful in the

southern part of the country thank media for broadcasting the progress of the Holy Father’sactivities in Manila.

“Davao is very far from Manila and from Ta-

cloban, but with the help of mass media, televi-sion, radio and internet, people from Mindanaoare very much updated with the events of thePapal visit as if they are present at the event,”

said Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles.

ASIDE from the gift of his merepresence, Pope Francis gave thePhilippines an antique atlas—no-tably at a time when the country’s

sovereignty is threatened by ter-ritorial disputes.

During his visit to Malaca-ñang Palace last Friday, the HolyFather gave President Benigno S. Aquino a nautical atlas attributed

to Batolomé Oliva, a Majorcan

Pope impressed by parents who

had babies blessed IF you were one of the

parents who struggledto get a papal blessingfor their babies, children while the Holy Father was

in the Philippines, thenPope Francis wants togive you a pat on the back.

Answering questionsfrom members of themedia aboard the papal

flight back to Rome, the

Virtually / A7

Religious / A7

Blessed / A5Disputes / A7Hospitality / A7

Reflect / A5

Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto was one ofthe first to greet Pope Francis upon his arrival at the Villamor Air base, Jan.15. Natalie Quimlat

The Holy Father gifted President Benigno S. Aquino with a nautical atla s attributedto Batolomé Oliva, a Majorcan mapmaker who worked between 1538 to 1588.Holy See Press Office

Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles. File photo

STORM Amang, the cold weather and the long hours of waiting, some 18, did not deter hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in Tacloban City from attending the Eucharistic celebration with Pope Francis who told them,

“When I saw, from Rome, that catastrophe, I felt that I had to be here. And on those very days, I decided to come here. I am here to be with you. A little bit late, I have to say, but I’m here. I have come to tell you thatJesus is Lord that he never lets us down.” Aira Purificacion

I l l u s t r a

t i o n b y B r o t h e r s M a t i a s

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. File photo



A2 CBCP Monitor January 19 - Februay 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 1WORLD NEWS

Vatican BriefingDetails of the proposal forPope Francis’ US visit revealed

MANILA, Jan. 18, 2015—Archbishop Bernardito Auza—a member of the organizing committee forPope Francis’ upcoming visit to the U.S.—hasrevealed details of the proposed schedule, which

includes visits to three cities.“He would arrive on the 22nd and he would leave

the evening of the 27th. It’s really a full six days,

plus the travel, so it’s really one week,” Archbishop Auza told CNA/EWTN News in Manila on Jan. 18.

A Phi lippines n ative, A rchbishop Auza is theHoly See’s permanent observer to the U.N. in New

York and to the Organization of American Statesin Washington. He is back in his homeland this week participating in the events of Pope Francis’ Jan. 15-19 apostolic journey.

The archbishop spoke of a meeting held lastMonday by the U.S. trip’s organizing committeeappointed by Pope Francis, during which the details

of the visit were discussed. After a projected a rrival to Washington, D.C.

on the evening of Sept. 22, they’re proposing thatPope Francis visit the White House the following

morning, where the official welcoming ceremony would take place.

Following his stop at the White House, the pon-

tiff would go on to celebrate Mass at Washington’sBasilica of the National Shrine of the ImmaculateConception.

The Mass, the archbishop observed, would be

primarily for bishops, consecrated and religiousmen and women, seminarians and representa-tives from humanitarian and Catholic charitable

organizations.“And we might say really the highlight of the

Washington visit might be his speech to the joint-meeting of Congress, so the Senate and the House of

Representatives,” Archbishop Auza said. Accordingto the proposal, Pope Francis would leave for New York City on the afternoon of the 24th.

The U.N. general-assembly would be his desti-nation on the morning of the 25th, which is also

the opening of the 3-day Post-2015 SustainableDevelopment Summit.

“Practically all of the heads of states and govern-ments will be around and they will a ll be there on thatday, so if the Pope were to finalize this visit to the U.S.

that means that he would address all the heads ofstates and of governments, who will be sitting withtheir official delegations,” the archbishop explained.

“We certainly are looking forward to that,” hesaid, noting how everyone involved is anticipating

what the Pope might say, particularly U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, who is “extremely thrilled.”

The papal address at the U.N. would take up theentire morning of Sept. 25, Archbishop Auza said.

He added that proposals for what the pontiff maydo afterward include an interreligious meeting, and“of course the Pope will visit St. Patrick’s (Cathedral).

That’s for sure.”The visit to the historic church wouldn’t likely

mean the celebration of Mass there, the archbishopsaid. Mass has been proposed instead for another

area of New York. He named the Madison SquareGarden as a possibility.

“Our plan is not to have a huge Mass outside of

Philadelphia, because the focus will really be Phila-delphia, because the Pope is going to the United Statesfor the World Meeting of Families,” he explained.

Perhaps the most “unique ingredient” of Pope

Francis’ proposed schedule for New York would be an interethnic meeting with the pontiff, whichis significant given the diverse ethnic background

of the city.“Ground Zero,” the site of the terrorist attack

on Sept. 11, 2001, which brought down New YorkCity’s twin World Trade Center towers, is another

foreseeable stop on the Pope’s itinerary, Archbishop Auza noted.

Benedict XVI visited the site during his 2008

visit, but t he A rchbishop mentioned that sincethen the official memorial has been inaugurated,the museum has been finished, and the metal crossfound in the wreckage of the towers is there.

“But these are just proposals. At the end of Febru-ary there will be the first organizational visit (froma Vatican delegation), and then we will see what we

could really fill in,” the archbishop said.Pope Francis could spend a couple of nights in

New York, but “it depends” on what else comes up.From New York the Roman Pontiff would head to

Philadelphia in the early morning of the 26th as hislast stop, where he is set to participate in the WorldMeeting of Families from Sept. 26-27.

“Philadelphia is confirmed. That’s for sure,” the

archbishop observed, explaining that the two bigevents set to take place with the Pope are a prayer vigil on the 26th and Mass Sunday, the 27th.

There is also an encounter planned with grand-

parents and children, however the archbishop saidhe does not know whether or not the Pope willparticipate.

Pope Francis himself confirmed his presence

at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphiaduring the Nov. 17-19 Humanum Conference inRome, saying that he will attend “if God wills it.”

Besides the encounter with families, Archbishop Auza said that the Philadelphia visit will likelyinclude “a visit either to a children’s hospital or a juvenile prison.”

Members of the organizational committee forthe visit, he said, include himself; papal nuncio tothe United States Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano;

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washing-ton; Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, archbishopof Boston; Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville,also president of the United States Conference of

Catholic Bishops; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York; Archbishop Charles Chaput

of Philadelphia; Msgr. Ronny Jenkins, secretary-general at the bishops’ conference, as well as a team

of various secretaries and assistants.On his Jan. 15 flight from Sri Lanka to the Phil-

ippines, Pope Francis also made the surprise an-

nouncement that he would canonize the founder ofCalifornia’s first missions, Blessed Junipero Serra.

When asked whether or not the Pope’s itineraryfor his U.S. trip would include a visit to California

for the canonization, Archbishop Auza said thatalthough it would be the ideal place, the state willmost likely not be on the agenda.

“I think he may do that in Washington,” hesaid, noting how there is a statue of Bl. Serra inthe National Statuary Hall of the Capitol building,honoring him as one of the founders of California.

The pontiff would most likely preside over “whatthey call a brief canonization, not the formal sol-emn canonization,” he said.

On a final note, Archbishop Auza spoke of thepossibility that the Pope would go to Mexico as

part of his trip to the U.S., saying that “they mightskip Mexico this time because it becomes a very,

very long (trip).”The pontiff might make another visit to Latin

America, the archbishop noted, although he did

not know when that would be.“So that’s more or less the plan. It’s a plan, we’ll

see how it will pan out.” (CNA)

Jesuits mark 400 years in Vietnam HO CHI MINH, Jan. 19, 2015—M orethan 3,000 people joined 210 Jesuitsin Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday for

the climax of yearlong celebrationsmarking the arrival of the first Jesuitsin Vietnam 400 years ago.

Bishop Cosmas Hoang van Dat, the

Jesuit bishop of Bac Ninh diocese nearHanoi in Vietnam’s north, celebratedthe Mass at the main Jesuit compound

in Thu Duc, a suburb of Ho Chi Minh

City.Fifteen bishops and Jesuits from

Vietnam joined a congregation from

across Asia and from Europe, includ-ing the Superior-General of the Jesu-its, Fr Adolfo Nicolas.

Many celebrations took place overthe last year with seminars, retreatsand pilgrimages to places that wereonce significant Jesuit centers in the

17th and 18th centuries and Massesin parishes across Vietnam.

The gatherings and events fo-

cused on the missionary experi-ences and strategies of the early Jesu its fro m thei r arr iva l—by anItalian and two Portuguese—in 1615

in the company of Japanese Chris-tians who went to Cua Han near DaNang to escape the persecution of

Christians in Japan.

While initi ally coming to servethe Japanese, the first Jesuits soon

Kids in poor countries suffer when West pushes sex agenda, Pope saysPope Francis cautioned on Monday that gender ideologies from the wealthy western world are being imposed on developing nations by tying them toforeign aid and education, in a form of “ideological colonization.” “A peopleenters with an idea that has nothing nothing to do with the nation… andthey colonize the people with an idea that changes, or wants to change, amentality or a structure,” he said Jan. 19 during a press conference on hisreturn flight to Rome from the Philippines. “They use the need of a peopleto take an opportunity to enter and grow strong - with the children.” The

Pope referred to the imposition of foreign ideas into a culture as “ideologicalcolonization,” adding that it is sometimes tied to financial assistance. (CNA)

Pope Francis to canonize evangelizer of the Wild WestIn a surprise addition to his fall 2015 trip to the U.S., Pope Francis isplanning to canonize the founder of California’s first missions, Bl. Junipero Serra. “In September, God willing, I will canonize JuniperoSerra in the United States,” declared Pope Francis aboard Sri Lankan AirFlight UL4111 on the way to Manila. Bl. Serra, a Franciscan priest, livedin what is now California in the 1700s. A Spanish-born missionary, hefounded the first nine of 21 eventual missions in California. He workedtirelessly with the Native Americans, and is said to have baptized morethan 6,000 people, and confirmed 5,000. “He was the evangelizer of the west in the United States,” Pope Francis beamed. Bl. Serra’s canonization will be the latest in a systematic action from Pope Francis to give a boostto evangelization efforts throughout the world. (CNA)

An environment encyclical in March? Pope Francis hopes soPope Francis said he plans to have his much-anticipated encyclical onman’s relationship with creation finished in March. “At the end of March,I think it will be completed,” he said. “I think that if the translations go well, in June or July, it could come out.” A year ago this month, the Vaticanhad announced the Pope’s plans to write on the theme of “human ecol-ogy” – a phrase that was originally coined by retired pontiff Benedict XVI.This expression, spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said at the time,describes not only how the faithful must respect the environment, butalso how the nature of the person – masculine and feminine as created by God – must also be defended. Pope Francis said that the first draft ofthe encyclical was completed by Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, headof the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. “Then I worked on it,” thePope said. “Then some theologians worked on the third version.” Thedocument was then reviewed by the Vatican Secretary of State as wellas the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. “Three weeks ago, Ireceived the responses—some rather vague,” he added. “Now I’ll take a week out in March to look at it.” (CNA)

Pope tells diplomats to work for peace amid a world rife with conflictPope Francis told Vatican diplomats that peace—which is a communalresponsibility—is the only solution to global issues like war, terrorismand social problems such as unemployment and slavery. “Today I wish to

repeat a word quite dear to us: peace!” the Pope told the diplomats on Jan.12. He said that peace is a common theme we think about during Christ-mas, but cautioned that the holiday also makes us think of “another tragicreality: that of rejection,” which is visible in Herod’s killing of the infantsin Bethlehem as well as in Jesus’ ultimate death on the cross. Rejection,the pontiff observed, is an attitude that we all share, and is one whichrefuses to see and accept others as brothers and sisters, but rather viewsthem as unworthy, and as persons we can bend to our own will. (CNA)

Pope Francis is all about the new evangelization, says expert With a style that meets the need for a new missionary zeal, Pope Fran-cis is representative of the new evangelization, says one theologianand guest speaker for the upcoming annual gathering of Ratzinger’sformer students. “The new style represented by Pope Francis is thefirst to merit the title of new evangelization,” said Msgr. Tomas Halikin an interview with CNA. “If this progress, which has aroused so muchhope in the Church – and outside [it] -- were to stop, it would have tragicconsequences, both for the Church and for the world,” he said. A Czechpriest who was persecuted during the Communist era, Msgr. Halik hasdedicated most of his theological research to the dialogue with non believers and faith seekers. (CNA)

Charity isn’t just helping others – it’s a way of life, Pope saysPope Francis told an audience of Haiti earthquake survivors and reliefagencies that restoration is only possible when communities unite incharity, tearing down walls of individualism and focusing on others.Charity is even yet more authentic and more incisive when it is lived incommunion,” the Pope told audience attendees Jan. 10. Communion,he said, “shows that charity is not merely about helping others, but is adimension that permeates the whole of life and breaks down all those barriers of i ndividualism which prevent us from encounterin g oneanother.” The Roman Pontiff offered his words to participants of a Jan.10 conference he called for in the Vatican to commemorate the earth-quake that devastated Haiti five years ago, and to draw attention to therestoration that both has been done, and still needs to be done. (CNA)

Nigerian bishop calls for Western intervention to stop Boko HaramUnderlining the failure of the Nigerian government to stop the violentrampage of Boko Haram, a Catholic bishop has called for Western militaryintervention. The Muslim militant group’s increasingly deadly assaultsand expanded recruitment from countries across North Africa mean “a

concerted military campaign is needed by the West to crush Boko Haram,”said Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri, capital of the troubledBorno state. “The West should bring in security—land forces—to containand beat back Boko Haram,” he said in an interview Jan. 19 with the inter-national Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Boko Haram, whichthe U.S. has labeled a terrorist organization, claims it seeks to overthrowthe Nigerian government and create an Islamic state. More than 11,000people have died since Boko Haram launched an insurgency in 2009,engaging in a campaign of terror, mass killings and abductions, carryingout suicide bombings, burning villages and forcing hundreds of thousandsof people to flee. Some reports from human rights groups say as many as2,000 people may have been killed when militants captured Baga in early January, razing thousands of homes in their path. (CNS)

Catechism, yoga, Zen cannot open people’s hearts to God, pope saysCourses in yoga, Zen meditation, even extensive studies in church teachingand spirituality can never free people enough to open their hearts to Godand his love, Pope Francis said in a morning homily. Only the Holy Spiritcan “move the heart” and make it “docile to the Lord, docile to the freedomof love,” the pope said Jan. 9 at Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Thepope looked at how Jesus’ disciples could fail to recognize and be open to theLord’s miracles, like his walking on water, the multiplication of the loavesand encountering him on the road to Emmaus. “They were the apostles,those closest to Jesus. But they didn’t understand,” he said, according to the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. “It was because their hearts had been hardened,” he said. “But how does a heart harden? How is it possible with these people who were always with Jesus, every day, who listened tohim, saw him ... and their heart was hardened.” (CNS)

Markets cannot be the answer to economic inequities, pope says in bookThe world cannot wait for an economic system that will cause poverty to fixitself, Pope Francis said. “Markets and financial speculation cannot enjoyabsolute autonomy,” he said. There must be “programs, mechanisms andprocedures aimed at a better distribution of resources, job creation andthe integral advancement of those who are excluded,” he said in a recentlypublished interview. “We cannot wait any longer to fix the structural causesof poverty, to cure our society from a disease that can only bring on newcrises,” he said. The latest interview, conducted in October 2014, waspublished in a new book, “Pope Francis: This Economy Kills” by Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli. While the book was released Jan. 13, excerptsfrom the interview were published in the Italian newspaper La Stampa

Jan. 11. (CNA)

turned their attention to the Viet-namese people who were split intotwo kingdoms—Tonkin in the north

and Cochinchina in the south.The Jesuit arrival in Vietnam came

shortly after the death of Matteo Ricciin Beijing in 1610 and followed his

approach to missionary work. Ricci’srevolutionary way of spreading theGospel started with making friends

among the local population and learn-ing their language and culture beforeany effort was made to share faith in

Jesus Christ.The most famous early Jesuit was

a Frenchman, Alexandre de Rhodes(1591–1660), whose work led to theadoption of Romanized script for the Vietnamese language which is still

used today.In 1661 he published the first

Vietnames e-Portuguese -Latin dic-

tionary and his Catechism in eightdays, which presented the Catholicfaith in the context of the traditionalmoral and spiritual beliefs of Viet-

namese people.Some 158 years after arriving in

Vietnam, the Jesuits were suppressed by the pope and disappear ed from

the country until their return in

1957 at the invitation of the South Viet name se gove rnme nt to helpdevelop universities. That was fol-

lowed by requests from bishops in Vietnam to a ssist in t raining localclergy.

That all changed in 1975 when the

Vietnam War ended with victory forcommunist North Vietnam.

Forty-one foreign Jesuits were

expelled, leaving twenty-six Viet-namese Jesuits, half of whom went to jail almost immediately. The others were drafted into the army or put to

work on state farms.Today there are 210 Jesuits in

Vietnam with as many as 140 of them

in training.The government restricts their

activities so they are barred from working in schools, univers ities or

social work, except if it is done in aclandestine way.

As a result, many Jesuits have un-

dertaken missionary work to Japan,Greater China, Laos, Thailand, Cam- bodia, Timor-Lest e a nd Europeancountries.

The Jesuits are also preparing forthe future in Vietnam by sendingtheir young students for postgradu-

ate studies in Europe and the UnitedStates. (UCAN)

Cardinal Designate Charles Bo. UCAN

Kenyan bishops insist no more tetanus

vaccines until further testsNAIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 16, 2015—Kenya’s bishops insisted that “nofurther mass tetanus vaccination

campaigns” take place in the coun-

try until the “vaccines have beenappropriately tested and proven

to be safe.”The Jan. 14 statement signed by

all of the bishops followed a recent

report that one-third of the vials ofthe tetanus vaccine tested containeda hormone linked to birth control.

At the direction of the bishops, the

vials were teste d at five diffe rentlaboratories in Kenya. The govern-ment rejected the results, citing

poor methodology.The Ministry of Health said it

tested 10 vials and found them to be fre e of the hor mone . In thei rstatement, the bishops said theCatholic Church had been at the

forefront of promoting an inves-tigation into these vaccines andthat initial requests by church

officials to test the vaccines wererejected by the country’s health

ministry.In November, the bishops charged

that the vaccine, targeted to womenof child-bearing age and not to

men, was being administered in acampaign sponsored by the WorldHealth Organization and UNICEF

that had been guarded by secrecyand deception. (CNS)



A3CBCP Monitor January 19 - February 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 1 NEWS FEATURES

Spiritual tears: Why PopeFrancis makes people cryMANILA, Jan. 17, 2015—Filipinos

from all walks of life came in throngsto meet Pope Francis, waiting under

the heat of the sun or cold rain just tocatch a glimpse of the bishop in white. And when he passes by, tears flow –spiritual tears, as they are called.

During the regular press brief-

ing for the Papal Visit held at theDiamond Hotel, Manila ArchbishopLuis Antonio Cardinal Tagle revealed

that those who shed tears when theysee the pope could be experiencing aprofound spiritual moment.

Divine, profound“In Christian tradition there is a

thing called the gift of tears,” the car-

dinal said. He added that people whoexperience the divine and profoundexpress the moment by shedding tears.

Tagle said people who see and witnessthe pope shed tears of joy and consola-tion after realizing that they “matter

and [are] considered important”. Vatican Press Office Director Fr.

Federico Lombardi, SJ added that thisis especially true for the survivors of

Typhoon Yolanda who wept openlyduring the papal Mass at Taclobanairport. He said what the people wereexperiencing was a feeling of being

comforted and not being alone.

Heart-felt weepingPope Francis spoke about the gift

of tears in his homily during the Feast

of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross inSept. 14, 2013.

The pope said the mystery of the

Cross can only be understood, “a little

bit, by kneeling, in prayer, but also

through tears: they are the tearsthat bring us close to this mystery.”

“Without weeping, heart-felt weep-

ing,” the Holy Father emphasized, wecan never understand this mystery ofthe Holy Cross.

Saints noted to possess this gift

are Sts. Catherine of Siena, Ignatiusof Loyola, and the stigmatist Pio ofPietrelcina, who was witnessed and

filmed weeping at the moment ofconsecration at Mass. (RommelLopez / CBCPNews)

Non-Catholics onFrancis: Goosebumps,

joy and more

The Holy Father is greeted by crowds at the Manila Cathedral, Jan. 16, 2015. Clifford Kintanar

MANILA, Jan. 16, 2015—True

enough, Pope Francis’ appeal cutsthrough religious and ideological boundaries, with many non-CatholicFilipinos sharing in the excitement

and an unexplainable feeling of joy brought about by Pope Francis’ recentcoming to the country.

Speaking on behalf of his Protes-tant brothers and sisters, Paean M.Taripe said, “We Protestants welcomethe Pope!”

Goosebumps A “Pope-struck” Mary Jane Silang

Alvarez asked, “Bakit ganito ang nara-mdaman ko nang makita ko si Pope

Francis. Masaya ako at kinikilabutankahit hindi ako Catholic (Why do Ifeel this way when I see Pope Francis.

I’m happy and get goose bumps evenif I’m not even Catholic?”)

Janeroy Ugpo Duquila, a Muslimconvert, confessed online to getting

emotional on seeing Pope Francis.“Isa na din akong convert sa Islam.

Noong nakita ko si Pope, hindi ko

napigilan napaluha. Super bless siya saatin. Sana magkaisa na tayong lahat. Welcome, Pope Francis,” she said.

Glenn Mark Madon added, “I’m

not a Catholic. But as a Born-AgainChristian, under the mighty bannerof Christianity founded by Jesus

Christ, [I] welcome Pope Francis inthe Philippines.

Bill Ford, who identifies as a member of the Igle sia ni Cri sto (INC )

posted, calling on all religious de-nominations not to use theologicaldifferences as an excuse against unity,

saying, “We don’t have anything tofight over.”

True Christian, true Muslim“It is a great honor for our coun-

try to be visited by the head [of the

Catholic Church], who is respected,not only Catholic countrymen, but by Ca tholics all over the world. We

respect his coming and we hopethat he will bring peace and unity to

the country. You are welcome, PopeFrancis,” Ford.

Muslim Hanna Kalmag Sarapshared she loves the leader of the

Catholic Church for his sincerity, as well as for living the true Christianlife.

“I’m a Muslim, but I love PopeFrancis because he has a good andpure heart. And he is a true Christian. We have a saying, the true Christian is

a true Muslim and a true Muslim is atrue Christian,” she shared.

She thanked the Argentine pon-

tiff for uniting Filipinos due to hispresence.

“Basta masasabi ko maramingsalamat sa’yo, Pope, sa pagdating mo

sa aming bansa. Nagkaisa ang mga taokahit sandali (I just want to say thank you, Pope, for coming to our country.

There is unity even for a while),” Alva-rez declared.

Atheist’s respectEven former Catholics who now

profess other creeds welcome the

Holy Father, even as they feel dismayover what he called the disrespect ofanti-Catholic groups which he didnot name.

“As former Catholics, now mem-

bers of INC, we respect and welcomethe Pope. Nakakadismaya ang pamba-

bastos ng ibang relihiyon, (The rude-ness of other groups is dismaying),”Erickson De Leon De Asis stated.

Nelma Lamar Layug, also an INC

member, stated, “Iglesia ako peroramdam ko ang gaan sa pakiramdamnang makita ko na si Pope Francis at

ngumingiti at kumakaway kahit saTV lang.”

Thomas Gerard Edillo, an athe-ist, did not let his non-belief in God

prevent him from admiring the HolyFather.

“I don’t believe in God, but this guy

is awesome. All of my respect,” he said.Pentecostal Edgar Jandayan

summed up his admiration for the Vicar of Christ in the following state-

ment, “I love Pope Francis as I love

Jesus.” (Raymond A. Sebastián/CBCP News)

Kiss for Sabrielle: Pope Francis pickedher out from a sea of faces

PASAY City, Jan. 16, 2015—It was a moment

many were looking forward to: When wouldPope Francis stop to kiss his first Filipino bab y?

Well into hi s motorca de toward s the SM Ma llof Asia Arena, Pope Francis stopped and mo-

tioned for one of his security personnel to carry8-month baby girl Sabrielle La Salette Rosete who was carri ed b y he r fa ther Stephen Janssen

Rosete, far-off from the railings. Viewers fol-lowing the livestream would recognize her asthe baby in a red hood, who drew oohs and ahhs, when she was sw ung briefly in to the popemobil e

for a kiss from the Holy Father.Both real time and live stream viewers were

ecstatic over the sudden turn of events, Sabri-

elle’s parents even more so.

UnexpectedThe Rosetes weren’t expecting the Pope to

actually stop and bless their baby daughter butit was worth the try.

“We feel very blessed, very, very lucky,”

Jona, Sabri elle’s mother, stated , wh ile an over- whelme d Stephe n answe red, “I just rais ed her

(baby Sabrielle) very, very high.”

“It was my prayer, as grandma. Sinabi ko na we ha ve to go an d ba ka mak ita (ni Pope Francissi Sabrielle). Sobrang answered prayer,” LinaRosete, the baby’s grandmother said. The little

family was clearly bowled over by what ha ppened,raining kisses on their little baby as they held her.

Baby Sabrielle’s uncle, Aaron Lu, was t he one

who gave the famil y their passes to the SouthParking Space. He tried to convince the parentsnot to bring Sabrielle, because, he said, she would not be able to stand the heat, the crowd

and the waiting, but they didn’t have any of it.Sabrielle’s parents, with hopeful hearts, broughttheir darling baby.

‘Dreams for the family’“Sabi kagabi ni tita, kung pwede daw ba dalhin

si baby. Sabi ko, ‘wag, baka kasi mainit. Pero sabiniya, Hindi isasama na namin, kaya ‘yan ni baby,(Last night, auntie asked if they could bring the baby. I told th em not to becaus e it mig ht be ho t.

But she said, no we’re bringing her, she ca n takeit,” Aaron added.

After the Holy Fath er ki ssed the forehead of

his niece, he felt really joyful for the once in a life-time event. “Syempre masaya. Kaya pala tumigildun, si Sabrielle na pala ‘yun. Sobrang blessing(Of course, [I’m] happy. That’s why he stopped

there, it was because of Sabrielle. Such a blessing).”Papa Francesco in his speech during the

Meeting with the Families at the SM MOA

Arena talked about how pa rents dream of the irsons and daughters, even while they are in the womb, and how it i mpossi ble t o bui ld a familyif one does not have such dreams of and for

one’s children.He reminded families: “When you lose this

capacity to dream then you lose the capacityto love, and this energy to love is lost. It is so

important to dream, and to dream in the fam-ily – please don’t lose this ability to dream inthis way.”

The family’s wish for baby Sabrielle startedout as prayer and a dream, and now with theHoly Father’s very inclusive personality, it has

come true. (Tina Matanguihan/ChrixyPaguirigan/CBCPNews)

Pope Francis kissed baby Sabrielle on the forehead during the motorcade before theMeeting with Families, Jan. 16, 2015. Chrixy Paguirigan

Jona May Rosete carries her baby Sarielle shortly before Pope Francis picked her outof the crowd and kissed during a motorcade on the way to the SM Mall of Asia Arena.Chrixy Paguirigan

The ‘blessing’ of not seeing Pope Francis TAGUIG CITY, Jan. 18, 2015—“Sonear yet so far” – this phrase could apt-ly describe the thoughts of policemen

who formed human barriers alongthe papal convoy’s route, missing thechance to see Pope Francis up close.

Despite getting up early like therest, who had to wait for hours justto catch a quick glimpse of the HolyFather, policemen had to face the side

opposite as Pope Francis passed by.But there is no trace of disap-

pointment, at least for Police Officer

3 Darlene Possas from Taguig City

Police Department, who had to beon her post along Andrews Avenuein Pasay as early as 12:30 p.m., hours

ahead of Pope Francis’ 5:45 arrival atthe Villamor Air Base last Thursday.

Blessing for all“Hindi namin nakita si Pope Francis

kasi nakatalikod kami sa kanya (We

couldn’t see Pope Francis because our backs were turned to him),” Possas said.

But the lady law enforcer claimsthat she does not regret foregoing the

chance to see Pope Francis.“Hindi ako nanghihinayang, ma-

papanood ko naman siya ulit sa

telecast. Pagod kami pero okay langkasi ‘pag nagbigay siya ng blessing,para sa lahat ‘yun, hindi lang dun samga nakakita sa kanya (I don’t regret

it because I’ll watch him again in

the telecasts. We’re tired but it’s ok because when he gives a blessing, it’s

for all who are there, not just for those who see him),” she pointed out.

Despite being pulled out of her

regular assignment to help securethe Pope, Possas said the deploymentis incomparable to her previous ones.

“Mas excited kami dito sa papal secu-

rity kaysa sa ibang deployment naminkasi involved ang faith namin dito (We’re

more excited about papal security thanother deployments because our faith is

involved here),” she explained.

Manageable crowdsPossas likewise said that the crowds

along the Papal convoy’s route weremanageable and cooperative, making

the job easier for them.“Cooperative naman sila at hindi

nanggugulo. ‘Pag sinabi naming

hanggang saan lang sila, doon langtalaga sila at hindi lumalampas sa

linya (They were quite cooperative. When you tell them their boundaries,they won’t go beyond them),” she said.

The Philippine National Police(PNP) reportedly deployed 25,000policemen along the papal convoy’sroute throughout Metro Manila. For

the duration of the papal visit, thePNP is on full alert, which means that

all leaves of its 150,000 personnel arecancelled. (CBCP News)

What this couple gave up to sing at

the papal MassTACLOBAN City, Jan. 17, 2015 – Ser-

vice to God or job security?For Eric and Lanie De Leon, who a re

said to be the best tenor and soprano

in Tacloban, the offer to sing at the pa-pal Mass set on Jan. 17 at the Tacloban Airport meant giving up their jobs inManila after recently moving to the

city from Tacloban. When they still lived in the prov-

ince, the affable couple, choir psalm-

ists since their college days, had good-paying jobs in Tacloban City and their

only child, Patrice, was about to startschool. Life was good; the couple felt

blessed to be able to serve God throughtheir choir, the Praise Chanters.

But by force of circumstances,

the couple moved to Metro Manilaand were blessed with jobs there, while their daugh ter entere d pre-school. The call to sing for God proved

irresistible. The De Leons foundthemselves back in Tacloban for animportant event. Lanie admitted

the possibility of singing during theTacloban papal Mass never crossedher mind.

Sacrifice, serviceIt was obvious Divine Providence

was rushing in a different direction –and that movement would bring them back to where they started.

In a Facebook post, Lanie posted: “Itis official; Eric De Leon will sing the

Responsorial Psalm on Jan 17 during

His Holiness Pope Francis high massat the airport. It is worth giving up ev-erything (my career) sand going back

to where our heart is… SERVING THELORD…Life may not be perfect butam still grateful. Thank you Sr. Sto.Niño for all the blessings!”

Eric and Lanie have been backin Tacloban and were among the250-member grand choir that sang

during the papal Mass on Jan. 17.Sacrifice seems to be the overarch-

ing theme of the papal Mass choir withchoir master Melvin Corpin also tak-

ing a reprieve from work just to devotemore time to perfect the grand choir’sperformance.

Corpin is a known liturgical song- writer, mostly of Waray composi-tions, even before his family migrated back to Tacloban from the United

States.In Sambuhay TV’s interview with

Fr. Raymund Cipriano Mazo, thepriest in-charge of the choir, he

explained the grand choir’s composi-tion.

“During Archdiocesan celebra-tions, we form the grand choir comingfrom parish choirs, so that every timethere is an Archdiocesan gathering

I can call them anytime,” he said.

(Eileen Nazareno-Ballesteros/CBCPNews)

Thousands of policemen were mobilized for Pope Francis’ state and apostolic visit to the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19, 2015. Ruel Tenerife

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle during the daily press conference on the papal visit with members of the media, Jan.

18, 2015. Basilio Sepe



A4 CBCP Monitor January 19 - Februay 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 1

EDITORIAL

EVANGELIZATION also involves the path of dialogue. Forthe Church today, three areas of dialogue stand out whereshe needs to be present in order to promote full humandevelopment and to pursue the common good: dialoguewith states, dialogue with society—including dialogue withcultures and the sciences—and dialogue with other believerswho are not part of the Catholic Church. In each case,“the Church speaks from the light which faith offers”,contributing her two thousand year experience and keepingever in mind the life and sufferings of human beings.This light transcends human reason, yet it can also prove

meaningful and enriching to those who are not believersand it stimulates reason to broaden its perspectives.

The Church proclaims “the Gospel of peace” ( Eph 6:15) andshe wishes to cooperate with all national and internationalauthorities in safeguarding this immense universal good.By preaching Jesus Christ, who is himself peace (cf. Eph 2:14), the new evangelization calls on every baptized personto be a peacemaker and a credible witness to a reconciledlife. In a culture which privileges dialogue as a formof encounter, it is time to devise a means for buildingconsensus and agreement while seeking the goal of a just,responsive and inclusive society. The principal author, thehistoric subject of this process, is the people as a wholeand their culture, and not a single class, minority, groupor elite. We do not need plans drawn up by a few forthe few, or an enlightened or outspoken minority whichclaims to speak for everyone. It is about agreeing to livetogether, a social and cultural pact.

It is the responsibility of the State to safeguard and promotethe common good of society. Based on the principles ofsubsidiarity and solidarity, and fully committed to politicaldialogue and consensus building, it plays a fundamentalrole, one which cannot be delegated, in working for theintegral development of all. This role, at present, calls forprofound social humility.

In her dialogue with the State and with society, the Churchdoes not have solutions for every particular issue. Togetherwith the various sectors of society, she supports thoseprogrammes which best respond to the dignity of eachperson and the common good. In doing this, she proposesin a clear way the fundamental values of human life andconvictions which can then find expression in political activity.

-- Evangelii Gaudium, #238-241, 2013

WEATHER forecasters were certain that tropical stormAmang was going to barrel through the islands of Samarand Leyte with maximum sustained winds of 100 kphnear the center and gustiness of up to 130 kph. ButPope Francis was determined. As scheduled, he had toproceed to Tacloban, ground zero of super storm Yolandathat left over 6,000 dead and 4.1 million homeless onNovember 8, 2013.

“I’d like to tell you something close to my heart. When Isaw this catastrophe (typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan) from Rome,I felt that I had to be here,” he told hundreds of thousandspilgrims that waited for his Mass for many hours underthe rain. “And so those very days, I decided to comehere. I am here to be with you. A little bit late, I haveto say, but I am here.”

The millions of Yolanda victims were searching foranswers, for meaning. Just like Glyzelle Palomar whoused to live on the streets until rescued by the Tulay NgKabataan Foundation. In the encounter with the Youth atthe University of Santo Tomas, she broke into tears whileaddressing the Holy Father, “I now want to ask you thesequestions: There are many children neglected by theirown parents. There are also many who became victimsand many terrible things happened to them like drugs orprostitution. Why is God allowing such things to happen,even if it is not the fault of the children? And why arethere only very few people helping us?”

In the midst of the storm, the Holy Father proclaimed tothem the kerygma. “I have come to tell you that Jesus

is Lord that he never lets us down. ‘Father,’ you mightsay to me, ‘I was let down because I’ve lost so manythings, I lost my house, my livelihood, my family. I’veillness.’ It’s true if you would say that. And I respect thosesentiments. But Jesus there nailed to the cross. And fromthere, he does not let us down…That is why we have aLord who is capable of crying with us, capable of walkingwith us in the most difficult moments of life. So manyof you have lost everything. I don’t know what to say toyou. But the Lord does know what to say to you. Someof you lost part of your families. All I can do is keepsilence. And I walk with you all with my silent heart.Many of you have asked the Lord, ‘Why Lord?’ And toeach of you, to your heart, Christ responds from his heartupon the cross. I have no more words to tell you. Letus look to Christ. He is the Lord. And he understandsus because he underwent all the trials that we, that youhave experienced.”

In Tacloban, Pope Francis did away with his prepared homily.He spoke from his heart filled with the Spirit. He did notassure them of rehabilitation efforts or anything structural.

He proclaimed to them the Good News that can only bewell understood in the midst of the storm—almost in thesame breath as what he told the clergy and the religiousat the Manila Cathedral, “The poor are at the center ofthe Gospel, at the heart of the Gospel. If we take awaythe poor from the Gospel, we cannot understand the wholemessage of Jesus Christ.”

Social dialogue as a contribution to peace

Message in a storm

The work begins

And That’s The Truth / A5

Oscar V. Cruz, D.D.

OPINION

Views and Points

Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

And That’s The Truth The priests(Conclusion)

Getting down tobrass tacks Fr. Roy Cimagala

Candidly Speaking

MonitorPROTAGONIST OF TRUTH, PROMOTER OF PEACE

CBCP

Pedro C. QuitorioEditor-in-Chief

Nirva’ana E. DelacruzAssociate Editor

Roy Q. LagardeNews Editor

Kris BayosFeatures Editor

The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the Areopa-gus Social Media for Asia, Inc. with editorial and businessoffices at 3rd Flr. HHC Building, Victoria cor. Basco Sts.,Intramuros, Manila. Editorial: (632) 404-2182. Business:(632) 404-1612.; ISSN 1908-2940

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I l l u s t r a t i o

n b y B l a d i m e r U s i

AFTER a truly successful pastoral—caring, teaching, leading—visit of thegood and lovable, wise and holy Pope

Francis, the renewed pursuant imple-menting Pastoral Ministry of theChurch in the Philippines begins by

working for the deeper understand-ing and consequent observance of hisreminders, advisories and mandates.

It was great to see him! It was a bigexperience to witness his kindness,humility and concern! It was a bless-ing to listen to him! A ccording to him:

The poor are crying for help.They are all over the land—in urbanand rural areas, in the slums, in thestreets begging, in the pavements

sleeping. Children are begging forfood, shelter and clothing, for care,

safety and education. Their parentshave no work. Meanwhile, there ismuch gambling among the people,

not to mention the reign of crimi-nals, the proliferation of drugs andaddiction thereto.

The families are threatened by

parents leaving their children behindto find work abroad. Decent housing,

they do not have. How to satisfy theirneeds, they do not know. How to send

their children to school, they have notthe means. So is it that the answerof the government to all these is to

prevent the birth of children throughall possible ways and means to impedethe coming of life.

The country is suffering not only

from corruption and consequent mal-

development, but also from ideologi-

cal colonization. While the formerguarantees the continued poverty ofthe Filipinos, the latter undermines

their sound cultural traits and moral value system. Un-Filipinos they ulti-mately become.

So the work begins:

The Clergy have to minister to the

people, not only by attending to theirspiritual, but also material needs, not

simply by catering to their heavenlyquest, but also by looking after theirearthly preoccupations. This pastoralministry is in perfect accord with the

two fundamental commandments oflove of God and love of neighbor—nei-ther simply one or the other but both.

The Religious have to look after the

human welfare—the mental, ethical,

social—requirements of those com-mitted to their care, those who askand/or need their attention, those who are lost and need thei r care .

More than anything else, the activereligious vocation is meant for serv-ing others. It is in serving others that

they find their real selves.

The laity have to be attentive to thecries for help of their fellow laymenand women, their fellow married

couples, their fellow fathers andmothers. More than the clergy andthe religious, they understand better

the aspirations of those who have thesame vocation. The laity is the wealthof the Church—particularly in thePhilippines.

IT’S truly a blessing, and therefore very heartwarming, to see the earnest,

simple manifestation of faith amongour countrymen these past days withthe pastoral visit of our Holy Father,Pope Francis. Thanks be to God, it’s

happily and healthily contagious.Some intellectuals and those who

consider themselves as educated,knowledgeable about things andarmchair analysts in their ivory tow-ers may wonder whether this is truefaith and piety or mere superstition

and mass delusion.I was amused when a CNN report,

for example, presented the event

more as a joke than anything else,since according to them the Philip-pines is 80% Catholic. What can youexpect?

And so, they took the spin of thePhilippine Church facing the dangerof getting increasingly irrelevant if it would not allow same-sex marriage,

contraception and abortion. Well,that’s CNN, not worth getting madat. Just to be prayed for.

The media will always have somespin, depending on their political or

ideological color. And let’s just be sport with this fact of life. But we just have to

proclaim the Gospel as it is, adaptingit to the minds and current needs andconditions of the people. This, in itself,

is already a formidable task and shouldnot be unnecessarily hindered by someunavoidable spoilers.

As to whether all that expression of

faith and piety is genuine, only God

knows. We cannot judge. What we al-ready know is that even in the time of

Christ, big crowds also followed him with all sorts of motives, and some ofthese were not even good.

In fact, there were those who spied

on him, trying to get something fromhis words to pin him down at an op-portune time. Besides, many of those

in the crowd were the same ones whoshouted: “Crucify him, crucify him!”later on.

But Christ did not reject anyone.

On the contrary, he had great compas-sion for them, since he regarded themlike “sheep without a shepherd.” Andso he preached the Good News to them

and performed some miracles.Those with faith benefited from

all these. Those without, of course,

did not receive anything. He also did

some scolding, if only to clarify mat-ters. In the end, he offered his life for

everyone, bearing all our sins and

stupidities.Let’s remember that Christ came to

save all, and not to condemn anyone.

It would really be a waste of time if wehave to bother about whether all thatexplosion of faith and piety we have just witnessed was genuine or not.

Let’s just be most thankful that we still have them, and then take thisoccasion to let them grow some more,

deepening and strengthening and broadening it as much as we can, withGod’s grace. We have to make themmature and fruitful.

That is what Christ himself would want. He told us to enter by the narrowgate and avoid the easy way of life. Hetold us to love one another the way

he loved us, all the way to the Cross.He told us to pray without ceasing, todeny oneself and carry the Cross, to

go out to all nations and to proclaimthe Good News to all.

The Holy Father told us manythings. As Vicar of Christ, as the sweet

Christ on earth, he was transmittingto us what Christ would have told usat these times. We have to protect

and strengthen our families. We haveto show mercy and compassion with

everyone, including those who are not yet with Christ.

We need to be vehicles of the loveof God for all of us, showing this byproclaiming the truth with constant

affection, abiding spirit of mercy andcompassion that should be expressedin the most immediate, direct and

tangible way. We need to be wary, of course, of

the usual dangers. The Pope talkedabout the evil of corruption and some

ideological colonization that is goingon in our country. He also talked to usabout the danger of complacency, fearof change, petty compromises with

the ways of the world, and “spiritual worldliness.”

We need to get down to business totackle all these points that the Pope

told us. Let’s consider them slowlyin our prayers, and start to make thenecessary adjustments and changes.

There is always something to adjustand change in spite of what we mayconsider already as our accomplishedlevel of wisdom and holiness.

If we truly have God and everybodyelse in our mind and heart, we will

always feel the need to adjust andchange, to grow for the better.

“YOU have no idea what we priests think aboutin bed…” Fr. Segretto’s words would pop back tomind every now and then, until I began to wonder

if his plea—“Pray for me”—had something to do with what he himself would think about in bed. Beforethe prince of mischief could fuel my curiosity to

dangerous flames, my inner ear was opened tolisten in the silence. In that ineffable way the Lordunveils another’s secret sins and plants in us seeds ofcompassion for the sinner, I bowed to Fr. Segretto’s

plea as though it were the Lord Himself asking formy prayers.

Once when he crossed my mind at prayer, I was

“transported” about 12 years back to an experienceI had had at a Trappist monastery. Having beengranted by the monks permission to spend 10days at their guest house—a period that combined

spiritual refreshment with professional pursuit—I was able to virtually live with the monks, rising at2:15 a.m. and going to bed at 7 p.m., and praying and working in silence in the hours in between. Because

the monks knew that I was there to also write aboutmy experience (for an international magazine),they welcomed whatever questions I asked. One of

them was, “Why do you choose to end your day as you do—singing Salve Regina and being sprinkled with holy water?”

The monks’ individual cells were 2x2-meter struc-

tures made of bamboo and nipa—literally, a bahaykubo—and had nothing inside except a bare papag(a narrow bed made of split bamboo), a crucifix, a

flashlight, and a bolo. The bolo was for snakes thatmight crawl in to share their beds at night in search of warmth. Yes, of course, “the night holds terrors” forus all, thus the nocturnal blessing with holy water. So,

why the Salve Regina and not any other hymn? Themonk’s answer was so simple even a kindergartenercould digest it: “Our Blessed Mother should be thelast person in our mind before we sleep.”

Last November, I met a 72-year-old priest, whofrom experience knows that a priest must guard hisheart against all kinds of snakes—not just those that

want to share the monks’ beds at night. These arethe “serpents” that crawl around and about the per-son of the priest, day and night—like hungry lionson the prowl, ready to devour him—the same species

that desperately tried to tempt our Lord as He fastedfor 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. This priestsuggests “clothing oneself in Mary”, in addition tothe Salve Regina at bedtime. He has found a most

potent protection for his ministry to pray 2,000Hail Marys each day: “I pray 100 Hail Marys every

hour for 20 hours; I sleep only four hours a day.”It would dawn upon me that Fr. Segretto’s request

for prayer was meant to bear for me such grace thatI had never asked for. I would pray for any priest at

any instance I would be moved to, such as: Fr. Buboy

who resents his assignment in so poor a barrio thathis average collection at Sunday Mass is 70 pesos;

Fr. Dondi, who as a student in Rome would be overwhelmed by nonstop exposure to eye candy (“those

gorgeous Italian women who are all centerfold ma-terial”); Fr. Rey, the eternal headache of his bishopfor being a Lothario victimizing pretty sisters

assigned in the parish; Fr. Edgar who devotes moretime to his profitable leisure-oriented businessthan to the needy parishioners; Fr. Joey who causestrouble and gives a bad example to seminarians in

whatever community his superior assigns him to;Fr. Dylan who is known to have sired two children with different partners and is unrepentant aboutit; Fr. Sonny whose breath always reeks of alcohol

at the confessional; and a few others.I have received communion from all of these

priests, fully aware of their weaknesses. I have

prayed for all of them, too. A change in me sur-prised me that it had taken place under radar (soto speak)—I suddenly realized that I had been freedfrom the notion that the state of the priest’s hands

could affect the value of the host I am receiving. I

was not even aware that for the longest time I had been wholeheartedly receiving communion from

laymen, seminarians, and nuns. This realization



A5CBCP Monitor January 19 - February 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 1 OPINION

Fr. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, SThD

Along The Way The Pope Francis mission

Viva il Papa, Santo PadreFrancesco!

Fr. Wilfredo Samson, SJ

Pitik-Bulag Pope Francis and Me

Watching PopeFrancis from afar:some considerations

Atty. Aurora A. Santiago

Duc In Altum

EVERY papal visit usually has anagenda that is not explicitly stated. Inhis first trip outside of Rome after his

election, Pope Francis went to Lampe-dusa to offer prayers for the victim ofthe tragic shipwreck that claimed the

lives of refugees coming from North Africa. At a first glance, it was a ges-

ture of his compassion and solidarity with the vi ctims. A deeper analysis

would show that it was also meant todraw attention to the plight of refu-gees and the indifference of European

nations that have adopted restrictivepolicies that made it difficult forpeople escaping poverty and violencein their homeland to migrate to the

European continent in search for a better life. His Lampedusa visit wasa prophetic act meant to awaken the

conscience of governments and thepeople of Europe and other wealthycountries. The pope tied the tragedy tothe “inhuman global economic crisis,

a serious symptom of a lack of respectfor the human person.” Calling thetragedy shameful, he asked everyone

to make sure that it will never hap-pen again. So, his visit was not just an

expression of his mercy and compas-sion. He also asked people to look at

the causes of such tragedy and act sothat it will never happen again.

The theme of the papal visit to our

country is “mercy and compassion.”Everyone presumes that the popeis coming to express his sympathy

and compassion for the victims andsurvivors of Typhoon Yolanda. Thisis why the highlight of his visit is theMass in Tacloban and lunch with

representatives of the victims andsurvivors. It was reported earlieron that he was deeply moved by the

tragedy. This is why he immediately

sent Cardinal Robert Sarah as hispersonal representative to express hissolidarity with the victims and paved

the way for his coming. But there ismuch more to that. He is coming not just for the victims and survivors of Yolanda but for all of us as a people

and as a nation. We are on top of thelist of countries most vulnerable toclimate change. We have been visited

by a series of super-ty phoons andfloods through the years – not only Yolanda but Sendong, Pablo, Ruby,Seniang. There is to more come. All

these are manifestations of the effectof climate change.

And the most vulnerab le are the

poor. The Yolanda victims and survivors represent all of us and the rest ofthe world—especially the poor—thatare vulnerable to the effects of climate

change. Pope Francis’ awareness ofthe link between Yolanda and climatechange is evident in his address to the

Vatican diplomatic corps in January2014: “I wish to mention anotherthreat to peace, which arises from thegreedy exploitation of environmental

resources. Even if ‘nature is at our

disposition’, all too often we do not‘respect it or consider it a gracious

gift which we must care for and set atthe service of our brothers and sisters,including future generati ons’. Here

too what is crucial is responsibilityon the part of all in pursuing, in aspirit of fraternity, policies respectful

of this earth which is our commonhome. I recall a popular saying: ‘Godalways forgives, we sometimes for-give, but when nature—creation—is

mistreated, she never forgives!’. Wehave also witnessed the devastatingeffects of several recent natural di-sasters. In particular, I would mention

once more the numerous victims andthe great devastation caused in thePhilippines and other countries of

South-East Asia as a result of typhoonHaiyan.”

Previously an analyst wrote: “thenew pontiff’s role in assisting the

world’s di sadvantaged will b e inex-tricably linked to the ravages of cli-mate change, the fast-growing globalcrisis that will hit the rising global

impoverished populations hard withincreasingly deadly droughts, floods

and storms as heat-trapping carbonpollution continues to build in theatmosphere.” (Rocky Kistner). PopeFrancis took name of St. Francis of Assisi because of his love for the poor

and the environment.It has been reported that Pope

Francis will soon publish an encycli-

cal on climate change. I believe thathis visit to the Philippines is part ofhis agenda regarding climate change

and its effect on the poor. Once againlike his Lampedusa visit, this is aprophetic act that will draw attentionto the effects of climate change, link

it to the global economic system and

the consumerist-materialistic culturethat is destroying this earth in the

name of economic progress.The gaze of world is not only on

Pope Francis but on us. Pope Fran-cis is here, not to draw attention to

himself but to our plight as a nationand as people – especially the poor inour midst—who are most vulnerable

to climate change. I’m sure that thepope would be embarrassed to see hisimages plastered all over the country.The pope does not want us to focus our

gaze on him but rather on the poorand the victims and survivors of thecalamities in whose faces we see the

face of Christ. As we welcome Pope Francis we too

are invited to share his concern aboutthe environment and about climate

change. We need to look at our own

lifestyle and to act to mitigate orreverse climate change. As PCP II re-

minds us, we are called to “care for theneedy and care for the earth.” Mercyand compassion must therefore beconcretely expressed not just in our

care for the poor but through ouraction to care for the environment.

HIS Holiness Pope Francis arrived in the Philippinesahead of the arrival time, amidst the joy, excitementand hope of the Filipino people. Tens of thousandsof people lined and waited at the Villamor Air Base,

Parańaque City and along the roads where the Papal

motorcade passed from the airport, to the ApostolicNunciature in Taft Avenue, Manila. Security was

very strict; since the Papal Visit is both a State Visitand Pastoral Visit, the Presidential Security Guards were involved in the safety and security prepara-tion—for the Pope, his entourage and the people

who would welcome the Santo Padre (Holy Father).Thousands of policemen were assigned to providesecurity by containing the crowd lined along

the streets to avoid stampede and prevent thepeople from rushing to the Popemobile.

*** Actually, I planned to discuss in this column the

strong messages delivered by Pope Francis duringthe courtesy call at Malacańang, Holy Mass at theManila Cathedral and also at the Encounter with the

Families at Mall of Asia Arena where I was blessedto be present. However, the events that happenedon Day 3 of the Papal Visit made me discuss theTacloban Visit, where one can see Pope Francis’

compassion and love to his people.

***Because Typhoon Amang (Filipino word for

Father) was not getting any better, the morningPapal flight to Tacloban was moved an hour earlier.The Pope said that meeting the victims of Typhoon Yolanda was the reason for his visit a nd the trip

must push through. Strong winds and heavy rains welcomed hi m at Tacloban Airport. Despite theinclement weather, thousands of people camped

at the airport; the bad weather did not stop themfrom seeing the Pope. However when the weathergot worst in the late morning, the pilot informed

the Pope that they must leave by 1:00pm.

The Holy Father forego the reading of his pre-pared Homily. He told the people that he wants totalk to them and speak with them from the heart.He spoke in Spanish and translated in English by

his staff. He said that upon hearing the devastationof Typhoon Yolanda, he decided that he should be with them. He said it is a bi t late, but he is now

in Tacloban. He told them that he is one with the victims of Yolanda, “in their pains and in theiranguish for the many people they lost to Yolanda.”He told them “to look to the Lord, who is capable of

crying and capable of walking with us in the mostdifficult moment in life. So many of you have losteverything. I do not know what to say to you, but

the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you lost part of your families. All I can do is keepsilent and I walk with you all with my silent heart.Many of you have asked the lord “Why Lord?”

And to each of you, in your heart cries responsefrom His heart on the cross. I have no more wordsto tell you. Let us look to Christ. He is the Lord. Heunderstands us because he underwent all the trials

that we, that you have experienced. And beside thecross was his Mother. We are like little child justthere. There are moments with so much pain and

say Mom that a child says to a mother when he isafraid. It is perhaps the only word we can say indifficult moments “Mother”. Let us together keepsilent, look at the cross. He understands us and

endears everything. And like little child, let us grabher hand and ca ll her “Mother”. Say to the Mother what you feel in your heart. We have Mother Mary

and a brother in Jesus. We are not alone.” He said Jesus and Mother Mary never let us down. We haveto move forward.

He said “I would like to tell you about something

that displeases me. The plan today was for the plane

to leave at 5pm, but there is a second-grade storm(Signal No. 2) that is around us and the pilots haveinsisted that we leave at 1:00pm. So I apologize to

you all. I am sad about this, truly saddened, becauseI have something prepared especially for you. But

let us leave everything in the hands of Our Lady because I have to go now.”

***The people love the witty banter of Pope Francis.

Before he left Tacloban, he requested two things

from the crowd. First is for them to pray for him.Second, he told the crowd to “keep quiet”, jokingly because of the loud but warm welcome of the people.

***The Palo Cathedral gave Pope Francis the image

of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, madefrom the debris of the church when it was damaged

by Typhoon Yolanda. Pope Francis, in return, gavethe mosaic of La Madonna Del Populo.

***

I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday toKalookan Diocese’s clergy Fr. Leo Gilbero and Fr. James Ty, and Happy Sacerdotal Anniversary toFr. Alberto Caballero, Fr. Benedict Cervantes and

the 5 new priests Fr. Joey Enriquez, James Anthonydel Rosario, Richard Omol, Carlos Ida and Kennedy

Neral. The new priests were ordained on January18, 2014, thus, their first anniversary coincided with the Concluding Mass and Feast of Sto. Nińoof Pope Francis in Luneta. Early on, the 5 priestsrequested Bishop Francis de Leon, the Apostolic

Administrator of the Diocese, that they celebratetheir First Anniversary by allowing them to concel-ebrate with Pope Francis at Luneta Mass. Since theDiocese is allowed to send only 20 priests, Bishop

Francis consulted the members of the Consultoresand Finance Council during its Joint Meeting. Themembers granted their request. Congratulations.

Rev. Eutiquio ‘Euly’B. Belizar, Jr., SThD

By The Roadside

1. It was a long, multi-faceted preparation, from spiritual to physical tochoreographic to fashion-oriented to artistic to security-meticulous.Sometimes one would wish that those who did the artistic or physical

or security preparations also did the spiritual preparations as well. It would have helped avoid egregious things, such as the alleged ‘deten-tion’ of street children to remove, as it were, potential ‘eyesores’ to the

papal vision. Trouble is, if true, the utter lack of spirituality in a one-dimensional preparation more often than not results in authoritiesdoing an Imelda instead of a Fr. Flanagan to street children and othereyesores of the republic.

2. Pope Francis is a living proof that there is a Holy Spirit and that he isstill very active in the Roman Catholic Church. His election to the Chair(not throne please, popes are not kings but pastors) of St. Peter in a world

filled with the massive shadows of terrorism, hatred, injustice, racism,economic-social-political inequities (as ever) truly brings the smile of Godon people tired of the dark horizons. Obviously his papal election belongsin the realm of light and light comes from the Spirit of the Living God.

3. It is truly amazing how people among even those unable to personally‘encounter’ the Holy Father but who watch him on television confess tofeeling “truly happy” and “joyful” by the mere sight of him. I know. The

social media broadcast that fact. Reactions to him are more often thannot ‘trending’. I believe it is because the papacy is truly a testimony to thesacramentality of the Church. Catholics often take it for granted thatthey encounter Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament defined fun-

damentally as “a visible material sign that convey and effect an invisibleimmaterial grace”. In a sense the Holy Father, being the visible head of theRoman Catholic Church, by the sacramentality of that same Church, brings

to us the invisible presence of our invisible Head, Jesus Christ. No wonderhe elicits joy in a way reminiscent of how Jesus’ presence in Mama Mary’s womb elicits joy in John the Baptist still in his own mother’s womb. This is what a Catholic loses when he leaves the Church. This is what non-Catholics

miss by the fact that they simply center on the Word.4. Pope Francis is often mistakenly characterized as a “cool celebrity”

with humble, easy and non-judgmental ways oozing ‘mercy and com-passion’ to the suffering and the marginalized, however unpleasant

sometimes to the naked eye some of those he hugs or kisses. But he isalso a tough prophet even with his gentle manners. This is, for example,shown in his Malacañang visit when in the face of a president who prides

himself in being the epitome of anti-corruption politics he called on allFilipinos to stamp out corruption in all levels of their society. It was liketelling the janitor to have his house swept thoroughly before he would

even think of saying what he does for a living.5. I was struck when he urged the clergy to shun compromises with

the materialistic mindsets of the world by kicking the ‘complacency’that makes them accepting of the “scandalous inequalities/inequities” of

society. I was wondering if the Holy Father was also indirectly referringto the “scandalous inequities” among the Filipino clergy themselves.The fundamental illness of Philippine society can be traced, in clericaltheological lingo, to the lack of real working ‘communion’ within the

Philippine Church. We preach with enthusiasm and righteous gusto on‘communion’ through faith that does justi ce, the very foundation of char-ity or Christian love. But as to whether we walk the talk we see concretely

in priests in urban centers having multi-million worth SUVs, condosand other properties plus regular trips outside the country while theircounter parts in the provinces barely make ends meet. Diocesan priestsfrom the provinces migrating to urban centers or outside the country

then is hardly a surprising reality but its scandalous character is almoston par with wealthy clergymen who stay blind to their brethren’s condi-tions. Real working ‘communion’ must start with the clergy. Bishops and

decision-makers in the Church must truly allow the full implicationsof the gospel to shake our very institutions to the tune of love foundedon justice done by faith. But we must walk before we talk and talk only

because we walked it first. Tall order. But very much like Pope Francis.

THE four-day visit of Pope Francis inthe Philippines is generating a sponta-

neous spiritual renewal in the Filipinonation. Everybody is excited. Somehowhis visit to the Philippines is a big lift toour tired and weary spirits. The past

two years are not good years for manyreasons: the Zamboanga siege, typhoon Yolanda, earthquake in Bohol and the

Visayas, typhoons and floods all over,graft and corruption cases, and othernatural and man-made catastrophes.

Many are tired and almost hopeless.

Our life is already burdened with many bad stories. Unfortunately, less goodnews is being told and shared. In the

battle of telling stories, sad to say, the bad news is winning. And the bearersof good news are getting fewer. We havefew storytellers of good news around,

compared to newspapers and social me-dia practitioners who are more inclinedto tell sensationalized bad stories.

When Pope Francis was elected as the

266th Pontiff of the Catholic Church,a new lease on life and inspiration hasdawned upon us. Suddenly, an inspiring

leader and a bearer of good news was born. When Pope Francis was elected,

instead of traditionally blessing thepeople, he asked the crowd to bless him. When the world saw it, everybody knew

this was the beginning of the renewaland revival of the Church. The followingmonths that followed were moments ofinspiration, consolation and healing.

We agreed. We finally found the shep-herd, our good shepherd—a leader whocould govern the Church with love and

compassion, towards the renewal andtransformation of the faithful, includ-ing the Church hierarchy.

Pope Francis is not only a perfect

bearer of good news of God; his life is aperfect manifestation of God’s mercyand compassion. And his inspiring

words coupled with action compelthe lost sons and daughters of God toreturn to the Church fold.

When it was announced that he

would visit the Philippines, everyone was thrilled with his coming. Everyone wants to see—in flesh and blood—thenew champion of good news in our

modern times. We feel so blessedand fortunate! For Pope Francis whoinspired and challenged the whole

world with his simple but profound

teaching, will finally visit us this week.

Unfortunately, not every Filipinois lucky enough to see him face to face.The sea and the distance that divides

us to islands and regions will hinderthe majority of the population fromexperiencing the energy and charismaof Pope Francis. Yet, even those who

are in Manila and Tacloban are notassured of a full view and face-to-faceencounter with Pope Francis. Not ev-

eryone is fortunate enough to have aprivilege pass to Malacañang, ManilaCathedral, Mall of Asia Arena and theUST field. Our last option to see him i n

person is at the Quirino Grandstand, but with the millions hoping to get aglance of Pope Francis, it will be like winning a lottery to see him closer.

So what’s the next option? To stay inthe comfort of your home, watch himon TV or on the internet, join him in

prayer, and listen attentively to hismessage. In other words, allow PopeFrancis to visit you in your hearts.

The question is—if you are not in

Manila or Tacloban—how can one profitfrom Pope Francis’ pastoral visit this week? For the majority, to see Pope Fran-

cis in person is not possible. But let’s lookat the positive side. The fact that he will

be in our country for four days is alreadya big blessing. His presence in our midstfor few days is enough to thank God for

this rare opportunity. Yes, to see him in person is a big bless-

ing. But to listen to him attentively andallow his message to touch our hearts

and transform our lives are better blessings. He may not visit our towns orcities, we may not be on the Vatican’s list

of people he will meet, but if we allow hismessage to visit our hearts – this is betterand deeper. Yes, it is awesome to meetthe Pope Francis in person, but to trea-

sure his message in our hearts is much better and beneficial than to rememberthe happy memories of his visit.

The euphoria of Pope Francis’

visit will fade away when he returnsto Rome. But for those who have

learned to transcend the physicaldistance between them and PopeFrancis, and have united themselvesspiritually with him in the liturgies,prayers and his messages, they will

remain genuinely joyful, inspired andtransformed for life.

was illumined by the memory of a week in thedesert when I, then an agnostic, experiencedextreme thirst.

On a seven-day trip called the Sahara Safari, venturing into the desert between Egypt andLibya with a dozen German scholars, I cameto appreciate the value of water. We had to

travel light; loading our Moogs with more tha nthe barest necessities could get us stuck in thesand. Thus, we were each allowed to use only

two liters of water every day, to drink and to

perform our ablutions. So when we came to anoasis, the crew advised us to drink as much as

we wanted for the next day we would be back toour 2-liter water ration. The villagers led us toa well, the community’s sole source of drink-ing water. The water stank of sulfur and we

all had to drink from one worn-out, chippedcup used by all the villagers. Elsewhere I would have fussed over the broken cup and

the water’s offensive odor, but in the desert with a parched throat, I couldn’t care less ifthe water smelled of sewage or if the persondrinking before me had TB. I was thirsty, and

it was all that mattered.Many years later, after the undeserved

miracle that brought me back to the Church, I

would see the desire for communion as a hungerfor God that’s not unlike the thirst for waterin the desert. I need it to remain alive; deprive

me of the Eucharist and I’ll die. I no longer care whether or not the hands feeding me are pure orhis person holy. In communion, the Lord givesHimself to me; that is all that matters.

We d o not turn away from the Churchsimply because some of her pastors fall shortof our expectations. We wish they would all

be Christ-like but we pray for them even (andmore intensely) when they are not.

In his homily shortly before he retired,

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said that “noth-ing causes more suffering for the Church, theBody of Christ, than the sins of her pastors, es-pecially the sins of those who become ‘thieves

and robbers’ of the sheep, lead them astray bytheir own private teachings, or ensnare themin the toils of sin and death.” Tho se of us who

are aware of the sins of our priests may in a way sa id to be privi leged, but what i s moreimportant is with that privilege we assume a

grave responsibility. Becoming aware of theinfidelities of priests, the ingratitude, the

coldness and sinfulness of these men of thecloth means we are given the privilege of being

invited, as it were, into the very depths of thesorrows of the Sacred Heart. Leaning on Hismercy we do not judge priests for what we per-

ceive to be their imperfections; rather, out ofcompassion we pray that they be strengthenedin their journey to union with God.

At the very least, gratitude to God should

prompt us to pray for His priests. When we strengthen a priest with our prayers, we

strengthen the hands, lips, eyes of Christ; westrengthen the whole Church.

And That’s The Truth / A4

significant impact to Filipinos like the visit of Pope John Paul II back in 1995.

“The last Papal visit was in 1995so this event happens like once every20 years [but] look at how people still

react when they hear the song ‘TellThe World of His love.’ You see howdeeply that visit of Pope John Paul IIhas touched the Filipinos. I’m sure

this visit of Pope Francis already hasthat effect but we need to allow thatto deepen,” he pointed out.

Tagle urged the Filipinos—regard-

less of religion—to reflect particularlyon Pope Francis’ message concerningthe poor, the youth, and the family.

“Let us spend time reflecting on thespiritual message and the missionarymessage of loving the poor; the cen-trality of appreciating children who

are helpless,” he said.

Message for all“This message is not just for Chris-

tians. His message is for all, likecherishing the poor. Even if you do

not belong to the Christian faith, the

poor must touch our hearts. When hetalks about bridging the gap between

the rich and the poor, you don’t haveto be a Christian to say that that isimportant,” Tagle stressed out.

The prelate said the Church will

continue to echo the message of theHoly Father to remind people of theimportant points Pope Francis made

during his visit.“ Th e m e s s ag e i s c l e ar an d I

think the priests, the religiousand the lay have been challenged

by the Po pe. Now, i mplement ing itis not for the Pope anymore to do.It is a decision that all of us have

to make. And as far as the leadersof the Church are concerned, we will reit erat e, we will repea t thatmessage and we will call on the

priests and the religious and thelay people also to implement themessage of the Pope,” he added.

Pope Francis flew back to Romeearly Monday on board Philippine Air line s fli ght Shep herd One PR8010. (CBCP News)

Reflect / A1

pontiff lauded gestures of parentallove as shown by Filipino fathers and

mothers who endured all sorts of ha rd-ships and sufferings just to get near thePope so he may bless their child.

“That gesture of fathers who think

of their children so that the Pope will bless them [touched me]… A gesture which in other places one do es not

see,” Pope Francis revealed. According to t he Holy Father, it

was as if the parents were saying: ’Thisis my treasure, this is my future, this is

my love, for this one it’s worth work-

ing, for this one it’s worth suffering’.“Then there were the gestures of

the mothers who brought their sick

children…Then many disabled chil-dren, with disabilities that make someimpression; they did not hide the chil-

dren, they brought them to the Pope sothat he would bless them,” he added.

Pope Francis flew back to Romeearly Monday on board Philippine

Air line s fli ght Shep herd One PR8010, concluding his week-long tripto Asia. (Jennifer M. Orillaza/CBCP News)

Blessed / A1



A6 CBCP Monitor January 19 - Februay 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 1LOCAL NEWS

PH’s ex-street kids meet Pope after online campaignIT STARTED as a wish, and that wishcame true today.

Children and staff members of Tu-lay ng Kabataan (TNK) Foundation, acharity that supports abandoned and

former street children, were original-ly just expecting to catch a glimpse ofPope Francis when he passes by Gen.Luna St. in Intramuros on board his

pope mobile, after months of lobby-

ing—mostly through the mediationof Manila Archbishop Luis AntonioCardinal Tagle—to personally meet

the Holy Father.But they got much more than that

when no less tha n the leader of the

world’s 1.2 billion Catholics said yesto meet the TNK kids in a short yetintimate encounter that was closedto the media—an undisclosed part of

the papal itinerary.

Surprise visit Accordin g to Alexandr a Chape-

leau, Communications and Partner-ships Coordinator of TNK, it was

only a few minutes before the endof the

Holy Father’s Mass at the Manila

Cathedral that they received finalconfirmation from the papal security

team that the Holy Father would be visiting the foundation, which is a

stone’s throw away from the saidchurch.

“Twenty minutes before the end ofthe mass, the security guards of thePope came and informed us that he will enter the center after the Mass,”

Chapeleau said.“It was really a surprise. We were

just very lucky to have a center just

on the side of the Cathedral. So let us

say it was providential that the HolySpirit guided us,” TNK Executive Di-rector Fr. Matthieu Dauchez said in an

interview with CBCP News.Pope Francis’ visit to the TNK

center, which lasted for a short but

meaningful fifteen minutes, wascharacterized by jubilant singing,dancing, hugging, and gift-givingfrom the children of the foundation.

Cathedral’s back-doorChapeleau said after receiving

confirmation of the Pope’s visit, thechildren could not contain their joyand excitement to see their “Lolo

Kiko” in person. After the Mass, Pope Francis used

the back door of the Manila Cathedral

to get to the TNK center located on theleft side of Gen. Luna St. across Manila

Cathedral.Upon reaching the gate of the

TNK center, the Supreme Pontiff wasgreeted by a warm hug from 10-year-

old Alvin Alis.“Your visit to us is very meaningful.

You are the representation of Christ tous who are poor. You are the one who

gives us hope, out dear Holy Father.Thank you very much,” Alis said inFilipino as he welcomed the Pope

and accompanied him to the center’s

makeshift stage, where the latter wasembraced by other TNK children

“When I got the chance to hug the

Pope, I was very happy. It was the firsttime that I was able to hug him; it wasthe first time that I was able to huga pope,” said 13-year-old John Paul

Delos Santos, another one of the TNKchildren.

According to James Ca paras, 10,

being given the opportunity to hugPope Francis was a life-changingexperience for him.

I suddenly began to tear up. It was

as if I told myself, this is probablymy chance to hug a pope, my hope tolive according to my inspiration,” he

explained in Filipino.The Holy Father arrived in the

country late Thursday, kicking off hisfive-day pastoral visit to the Philip-

pines from Jan. 15 to 19. (JenniferM. Orillaza/CBCPNews)

The Holy Father makes a “surprise” visit to Tulay ng Kabataan, a charity that aims to support abandoned and abused children, afterhis Mass at the Manila Cathedral, Jan. 16, 2015. TNK

Student journalists call on Pope tohelp stop killings of media men UNIVERSITY student journalists stood forhours with thousands of people outside the

gate of Malacañan yesterday to greet PopeFrancis before meeting President Benigno Aquino III and other government officials for

official welcome rites.They wished the Pope would have the

chance to know the extent of the killingsof local journalists, hoping the Holy

Father would ask Aquino to address the

issue of curtailed press freedom in thecountry, said Erol Nataniel G. Rico, Far

Eastern University (FEU) Advocate news wri ter .

With fait h in the Pontif f’s capac ity toprompt change, they also wished he would

personally witness the poverty gripping mil-lion of Filipinos and would do what he can tohelp address it.

Pray for journalists Jess Miranda, FEU Advocate news editor,

hoped the Pope would pray for every journal-ist in the country and elsewhere in the world, whose lives are at times put i n d anger due

to the nature of theprofession.

The student journal-ists also hoped his visi t would insp ire

press freedom advo-cates to continue andintensify their work,Rico said.

Meanwhile, Lyka

C abu n g c ag , F EU Ad voc ate pho tog -

rapher, wished thePope would continuehis apostolate for thepoor and world peace.

Pope’s messageFilipinos should

continue to mull over Pope Francis’ words

even after his pastoral and state visit to thecountry ends to get a full sense of his mes-sage, he noted.

They lined for hours outside Malacañan

to personally see the Pontiff and also to cover

the event for the FEU community, Rico said.

The Holy Father flew back to Romeon Monday, Jan. 19, from Villamor Air base, endin g his apost olic and stat e visi tto to the Philippines. (Oliver Samson/CBCPNews)

Militants laud Pope’s lovefor poor A LOCAL militant group has joined the rest

of the country in supporting the head of the world’s more than a billion Catholics, prais-ing him for his “compassion for the poor and

downtrodden,” especially as detailed in his“Joy of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium).

In an official statement, Renato M. Reyes, Jr., secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang

Makabayan (Bayan), expresses appreciationfor the deep concern Pope Francis has shownto the Filipino people, especially survivors of

Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), mostof whom have not yet fully recovered over a year after the disaster.

“We value his compassion for the poor and

downtrodden peasants, indigenous peoples, women and youth,” he shares.

“We take comfort in his support for human

rights and social justice. We welcome the factthat he is striving to establish the Church ofthe Poor and encouraging the youth to changethe status quo,” he adds.

According to Reyes, Bayan agrees with theHoly Father’s critique of the oppressive andexploitative global economic system that con-tinues to put profits above people, describing

it as an “economy of exclusion and inequality”.“We hope that during his visit, the Pope will

come to know the real situation of the Fili-pino people. Our country remains economically backward and underdeveloped, with poverty,

unemployment, hunger and migration on therise. Human rights violations persist, in theform of militarization, extrajudicial killings,and enforced disappearances, similar to those

that took place in Latin America. Social servicesare being privatized, and our natural resources

plundered by foreign corporations,” he explains. “Let the Pope know the real situation of our

country. Let not the security arrangementsprevent the poor from welcoming the Popeand let not the barricades and barriers prevent

the Pope from knowing the plight of the poor,”he declares.

“The Filipino people are struggling for

genuine freedom and democracy, for peace based on justi ce. We are strug gling dailyagainst corruption and corporate greed andfor a better future. We warmly embrace the

solidarity of the Pope and wish him a safe ar-rival, he adds. (Raymond A. Sebastián/CBCP News)

Student journalists from FEU Advocate, official publication of Far EasternUniversity: (L-R) Erol Nathaniel G. Rico, Jess Miranda, and Lyka Cabungcagwait outside Malacañan to greet the Holy Father, Jan. 16, 2015. Oliver Samson



A7CBCP Monitor January 19 - February 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 1 DIOCESAN NEWS

styles, our consumption and our useof the earth’s resources.”

“Today, I ask you to do this in thecontext of your own lives and yourcommitment to the building up ofChrist’s kingdom,” he said.

Noting the gravity posed by theearth’s destruction to the well-beingof people, the Pope exhorted young

Filipinos to be concerned about theplight of their surroundings.

“Dear young people, the just useand stewardship of the earth’s re-

sources is an urgent task, and you

have an important contribution tomake. You are the future of the Phil-

ippines. Be concerned about what ishappening to your beautiful land!”Pope Francis said.

‘Beautiful garden’Calling the world a “beautiful

garden” created by the Lord, the Popelamented about how the sins of menhave ravaged its natural beauty.

“He created the world as a beautifulgarden and asked us to care for it. Butthrough sin, man has disfigured thatnatural beauty,” Pope Francis said in

his homily during the concluding

Mass of his visit held at the QuirinoGrandstand.

“Through sin, man has also de-stroyed the unity and beauty ofour human family, creating social

structures which perpetuate poverty,ignorance and corruption,” he added.

The Pontiff noted that genuine

concern for the environment meansmore than just cleaning one’s sur-roundings and recycling garbage, but through the important aspect of

recognizing “God’s saving plan.”“We need to see, with the eyes of

faith, the beauty of God’s saving plan,

the link between the natural environ-

ment and the dignity of the humanperson,” he said.

Pope Francis reminded the laitythat since they are made in the imageand likeness of God, they are given

dominion over creation.“As stewards of God’s creation,

we are call ed to make the eart h a bea uti ful gar den for the huma n

family. When we destroy our for-ests, ravage our soil and pollute ourseas, we betray t hat noble calling,”

he added.Pope Francis flew back to Rome to-

day from Villamor Air base onboardShepherd One PR 8010 at 10:00 a.m.

(Jennifer M. Orillaza/CBCPNews)

Environment / A1

‘Equally excited’Even if Mindanao is not part of the papal itiner-

ary while in the country, Valles said the faithful in

Southern Philippines still prepared for the Holy

Father’s historic visit by praying for the Pope

after each Mass, as well as holding vigils and Holy

Hour devotions. According to the prelate, Catholics in Mindanao

are equally excited to see Pope Francis and also un-derstand why the Holy Father could not take time

out of his hectic schedule to fly south.“They are all very excited with the visit of the

Holy Father as everybody else in the country,” said Valles, who was one of the Catholic Bishops’ Confer-

ence of the Philippines (CBCP) Permanent Councilmembers who greeted the pontiff on his arrival at Villamor Air Base on Jan. 15.

Valles admi tted bein g asked by his flock if

Pope Francis is coming to Davao like Pope JohnPaul II did when he went visited the country inFebruary 1981.

Main purpose“I said no, because we also know that the main

purpose of the Pope’s visit is to spend time withpeople who were affected or still suffering dueto Typhoon Yolanda. And they understand,”he said.

On Saturday, Pope Francis and his entourage willto fly to Leyte to preside over a 10 a.m. Eucharisticcelebration at the Tacloban Airport, which washeavily damaged during the onslaught of typhoon

Yolanda.By lunch time, the Holy Father will dine with

the poor and survivors of typhoon Yolanda at the

Residence of the Archbishop of Palo. The Pontiff will also lead the blessing of the Pope Francis Centerfor the Poor in Palo.

Aboard Philippine Airlines fligth PR 8010, PopeFrancis flew back to Rome on Monday, Jan. 19, from Villamor Air base, after a 5-day apostolic and state visit to to the Philippines. (CBCP News)

Virtually / A1

• Metropolitan Nektarios (Tsilis)of the Orthodox Metropolitanateof Hong Kong and Southeast Asia •

Venerable Master Hsing Yun, a Bud-

dhist monk from the Fo Guang ShanMonastery in Taiwan• Rabbi Eliyahu Azaria, who heads the synagogue in

Makati • Maharaj Rajesh Sharma, aHindu priest • Ephraim Fajutagana,obispo máximo of the PhilippineIndependent Church and chairman

of the National Council of Churchesin the Philippines • Bishop Cesar

Vicente Punzalan III, chairma n ofthe board of the Philippine Council of

Evangelical Churches • Lilian Sison,

former UST Graduate School dean • Julkipli Wadi, dean of the Instituteof Islamic Studies at the University

of the Philippines • Imam IbrahimMoxir Alhaj, of the Imam Councilof the Philippines • Reynato Puno,former Chief Justice and chairman of

the Philippine Bible SocietyPope Francis flew back to Rome on

Monday, Jan. 19, from Villamor Air

base, ending his a postolic and state visit to to the country. (CBCPNews

with reports from JenniferOrillaza)

Religious / A1

mapmaker who worked between 1538

to 1588. According to the Holy S ee Press

Office, the Pope gave the President

one of the 50 faithful reproduc-tions of the nautical atlas UrbinateLatino 283 of the Vatican ApostolicLibrary.

Bought by the Vatican Apos-tolic Library in 1657 together withother manuscripts of the UrbinateLibrary, the atlas, whose pages

measure 33 x 23 centimeters, is

composed of 14 colored nauticalmaps in parchment.

The Vatican Apostolic Library

believes t hat the atlas da tes bac k to1562, based on a note on Map V andthe Holy See Press Office said it is“characterized by a certain sobriety,

and by the accuracy of the geographi-cal data that distinguishes it from theluxurious specimen produced for thecollection or libraries of those who

commissioned them.”“It is written in humanistic round

hand by one hand, except for a fewintegrations by a second, in Castilian

with some different linguistic influ-ences that reveal the origin of Oliva,”the Holy See Press Office said in astatement.

Like the medieval atlases, the atlas

that Pope Francis gave the country’sleader depicts the world as known bythe 16th-century Europeans.

“Without any introduction by atitle page, the maps that follow s how

the world as it was known by theEuropeans of the 16th century. They

are drawn within a rectangular redframe; the colors prevalently used

for toponyms and hydronyms are black and red; among the vario usindications, there are also those of

latitude,” the Holy See Press Officeadded. (Raymond Sebastian/CBCP News)

Disputes / A1

In a press briefing upon the depar-ture of the Pope and his entourage

for Rome earlier today, ArchbishopGiuseppe Pinto thanked all the sec-

tors of the Philippine government forcollaborating in the success of PopeFrancis’ state and apostolic visit.

“We received the best and the widest colla boration. In fact we had

the opportunity to get in touch witheverybody and everywhere in thegovernment, both national and lo-cal. And this has been noticed by ev-

erybody, and the collaborator of theHoly Father said thanksv becausethey received the best hospitality

everywhere they went,” Pinto said.The Nuncio also said the mere size

of the papal entourage is proof thatauthorities in the Vatican are happy

to have accompanied the Holy Fatherin his visit to the Philippines.

“According to those who accompa-

nied the Holy Father, normally theyhave less people, but this time they

are a big delegation of 12 people. Soalmost all the authorities in Rome,

except for one who just arrived, werehere with us. And they were happy to be with us,” he added.

Pinto likewise thanked the Filipino bishops, whom he said have supportedhim during his first experience of ar-

ranging a papal visit.

“Fraternally, I would like to saythank you to my brother bishops

who sustained me. This was my firstexperience of a papal visit because intwo occasions I arrived late in PapuaNew Guinea about 30 years ago and

in Argentina about 25 years ago. Butnow the Pope said, ‘Now you have this.I’m satisfied,’” he added.

Pope Francis, his entourage and

Vatican-accredited media personnelhave departed from this city at ex-actly 10 a.m. The Philippine Airlines

Airbus A340-300 jet carrying themreportedly took off from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)at 10:12 a.m.

Thousands of greeters lined thestreets to bid Pope Francis goodbyeright before his scheduled trip back

to Rome on Monday, Jan. 19. He

flew back to Rome aboard “ShepherdOne” together with his entourage andmembers of the Vatican Accredited

Media Personnel (VAMP). (CBCPNews)

Hospitality / A1

‘We’ll tell future generations aboutPope’s 2015 visit’—CBCP chief

DAGUPAN City, Pangasinan—The head

of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of thePhilippines (CBCP), Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, was all “gra cias” to t he Argenti nepontiff on behalf of the Filipino faithful for

the success of his recently ended apostolic visit, telling him that Filipinos today willtell future generations about the stories and

messages from the pontiff’s 2015 visit tothe country.

“Gracias Santo Padre! We will never for-get these five days. Our children and their

children will never forget these five days, because we will tell them the stories of thesefive grace-filled days and they will tell them to

their children,” says the prelate in a statementreleased earlier today.

According to Villegas, Pope Francis’ words will live on in Filipinos’ stories, “embedded

in our and their hearts”, something that con-stantly reminds the faithful about Jesus’ love.

Pricking the collective conscienceHe described the pontiff’s messages as

pricking the collective conscience of Filipino

Catholics, especially about loving the poor,praying always, hoping amid challenges and

keeping the faith.

“It is the voice of Jesus telling us, I am with you and I will not leave you orphans,” stressesthe Lingayen-Dagupan prelate.

The prelate noticed one more thing in par-

ticular: the “paternal affection” Pope Francisshowd to survivors of typhoon “Yolanda”(international name: Haiyan).

“In Tacloban, Holy Father, your voicepierced through the rains and strong winds.From your heart you intoned, Gracias!, look-ing up to the dark skies but clearly to heaven,

and your gaze moving from the people pa-tiently standing in the rain, to the image ofthe Blessed Mother tenderly holding the baby Jesus in her arms. Gracias!” Villegas says.

Villagas thanks the Pope for the tenderness with which he comforted Filipinos, reassuringthem that Jesus will never abandon them.

Not orphans“You thanked the Lord for not leaving us

orphans amidst desperation, loss, miseryand pain. And at that moment we were one with you in your thanksgiving to God. But we

were also lifting up our own gratitude to Godfor sending you to us. We know that you, too,

will not leave us orphans. That you wi ll be

with us, suffering with us who are poor, aged,sick, disabled, deaf, crippled, abandoned andignored,” he adds.

The head of the bishops’ conference also

thanked the pontiff for what many are callingPope Francis’ “ministry of presence”

“Gracias Santo Padre for your warm smilethat also came from your eyes, penetrating

our heart, even our soul. How easily yoursmile came when you caught sight of thepeople jubilantly gathered to greet you in the

streets, especially, unmindful of the heat, andin Tacloban and Palo, unmindful of the rainand wind,” he says.

Villegas takes note of how the Holy Father’s

face would brighten up at the sight of youngpeople and of the children whom he embracedand carried in his arms.

Pope Francis left the Philippines for the Vatican at around 10:45 a.m. Monday aftera successful five-day apostolic and state visit, whi ch allowed him to see and be seen

by millions of cheering Filipinos who bravedextreme weather conditions to welcome himand take part in the event. (Raymond A.Sebastián)

Young ones were among those who lined the streets leading to Villamor Air base to bid goodbye to Pope Francis before his flight back to Rome, Jan. 19, 2015.Gerald Cenir

Bacolod artists, studentscreate ‘Pope mural’

BACOLOD City—For Bacolod artists and stu-

dents, the real face of Pope Francis is shownthrough a 35-meter “Pope of the People”

mural, which they themselves created in timefor the papal visit.

“We are translating the words and messagesof Pope Francis in the grassroots’ lives of theFilipinos – that is truly pro-poor and pro-peo-

ple,” stated the Dibuhista nga Naghiliugyon saNegros (DIHON)

According to Revo Yanson, newly-elected

chair of DIHON, the mural, which is locatedon the wall of the the University of Negros Oc-cidental – Recoletos in Bacolod City, NegrosOccidental, speaks of the of the “visual signature

image” of Pope Francis at the center: the Pope aspedicab driver; as peacemaker between the rebelsand the military; as a sacada worker; doing selfie with the youth; smiling with the young people.

“This is the only mural in the country thattranslates Pope Francis’ ‘charism’ in a comi-

cal way. Any ordinary passerby appreciates

the message of the mural. With the mural, we can feel that as if Pope Francis is here in

Bacolod,” said Marvin Blanco. The mural alsoincludes elements of Negros’ history and cul-ture, highlighting the Diocese of Bacolod, as apioneering diocese of the Church of the Poor.

“DIHON’s history is rooted in peoples’struggle; this is our tribute to the Pope who isclose to the hearts of the poor,” said Jam Bayo-

neta, one of the younger DIHON members.The participating DIHON artists are: Revo

Yanson, Jolen Resuma, Jam Bayoneta, KarloBurdeos, Larry Guillema, Stephen Basoy,

Rodel Rojo, Larry Occeña, Zardo Saballa,Brother Tagoy, Jude and Agustin Jakosalem.(CBCPNews)

DIHON artists and students create a mural representing Pope Francis, the “Pope of the People” in Bacolod,Negros Occidental.DIHON

Bishop amazed by tabernacle’s unexplained

protection during ‘Ruby’ BORONGAN City—One month

of typhoon Ruby, the unexplain-able protection of the taber-nacle in the Diocese of BoronganPriests’ Home despite massive

flooding in the area is creating asense of awe and wonder amongsurvivors of the said typhoon,

including a bishop.“Sometimes we just ignore and

don’t really appreciate the pres-ence of the Holy Sacrament—of

the Lord in our very midst. But

the incident at the Priests’ Homepowerfully points out to us thefact that He is alive, He is here…and that He is the King even over

theflood,” said Borongan BishopCrispin Varquez during a recenthomily, highlighting God’s pro-

tection during calamities.The tabernacle covered with an

immaculately white veil was dis-covered miraculously untouched

by super typhoon Ruby on Dec.6, 2014, even while the rest of

the Borongan Priests’ Home inCampesao, Borongan City, E.Samar was marred by mud and

dirt from rain and flood. According to eye witnesses, the

tabernacle had no trace of being wet or stained and the vigil candle

beside it was miraculously lit even while the storm raged for six hours,leaving the place wet and ruined.

Varquez, together with s omepriests and seminarians, inspect-

ed the storm’s damage, seeingfirst-hand the water level on the walls, whi ch stopped just belowthe base of the tabernacle.

“He is with us especially duringour times of troubles. And He alwaysreminds us that He is the Master of

all creation, He is the Lord of all theearth,” the prelate reminded thefaithful. (Vanessa M. Puno)

Ecumenical group asks Pope’s

help in peace effortsQUEZON City—An ecumenical group wants to

bring to the attention of Pope Francis the lackof peace in parts of the country, requesting forhis help in inviting local warring factions toreturn to the negotiating table.

“[In this regard,] we would like to appealto Your Holiness if you might reinforce ourcalls to both parties for them to return to

the negotiating table and honor previousagreements to help resolve the roots of thearmed conflict and attain a just and lastingpeace in the country,” shares Rev. Ephraim

S. Fajutagana, Obispo Maximo of the IglesiaFilipina Independiente, who also chairs theNational Council of Churches in the Philip-

pines (NCCP), in a statement.

45 years of conflict

According to him, an armed conflict has been raging in the Philippines for 45 years andhas affected thousands of lives.

“Our people’s cry for peace is deeply rooted in

their daily struggle for survival. A just and lastingpeace would mean for us food on the table, just wages and job security, land for the landless and a

respect for God’s gift of human dignity,” he says.NCCP, whose members include mainstream

Protestant and non-Roman Catholic churchescommitted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and

the Gospel call to faithfulness and justice, have been active in calling for a resolution to thearmed conflict between the Government of the

Philippines (GPH) and the National DemocraticFront of the Philippines (NDFP).

Fajutagana explains the formal peace talks between the G PH and the NDFP whi ch r e-sumed earnestly in February 2011, after more

than six years of impasse, have been stalledagain since June 2011.

Impunity, human rights abuse“Over recent years, there are many human

rights defenders, including clergy and lay

people of our member churches who have beenextrajudicially killed, disappeared, tortured,imprisoned on trumped up charges and havesuffered other forms of abuse,” he notes.

According to Fajutagana, the group hopesthat if the Holy Father gets to talk to “those inpower in our country”, he would raise the issue

of why “advocates of the poor” are subject tohuman rights abuses and their perpetratorsenjoy impunity.

Speaking for NCCP, he also thanks God that

the Holy Father has come to the Philippines “witha Gospel heart full of compassion for the poor”.

“We praise God for your humility and

faith, and ask God that just as your presencehas blessed our nation, that the people of thePhilippines may also be God’s blessing to you.Our Council and our member churches will

continue to hold Your Holiness in our prayersas you continue to speak truth to power,” hetells the Pope.(Raymond A. Sebastián)



A8 CBCP Monitor January 19 - Februay 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 1



B1CBCP Monitor January 19 - February 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 2 APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF POPE FRANCIS TO THE PHILIPPINES

T N K

Poor / B7

Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis at the Eucharistic Celebration held at the Manila Cathedral

with the Filipino Bishops, Priests and Religious on January 16, 2015

Only by becoming poor ourselves, by

becoming poor ourselves, by stripping

away our complacency, will we be

able to identify with the least of our

brothers and sisters.

The poor are at the center of the

Gospel. At the heart of the Gospel.

If we take away the poor from the

Gospel, we cannot understand the

whole message of Jesus Christ.

“DO you love me? [the crowd answers yes

and Pope Francis laughingly said, “Thank

you very much” as the crowd applauded

and he explained that he was quoting

Jesus’ words] said the Lord. Do y ou love

me? … Tend my sheep” (Jn 21:15-17). Jesus ’

words to Peter in today’s Gospel are the first

words I speak to you, dear brother bishops

and priests, men and women religious, and

young seminarians. These words remind usof something essential. All pastoral minis-

try is born of love. All consecrated life is a

sign of Christ’s reconciling love. Like Saint

Therese, in the variety of our vocations,

each of us is called, in some wa y, to be love

in the heart of the Church.

I greet all of you with great affection. AndI ask you to bring my affection to all your

elderly and infirm brothers and sisters,

and to all those who cannot join us today.

As the Church in the Philippines looks to

the fifth centenary of its evangelization,

we feel gratitude for the legacy left by so

many bishops, priests and religious of

past generations. They labored not only to

preach the Gospel and build up the Church

in this country, but also to forge a society

inspired by the Gospel message of charity,

forgiveness and solidarity in the service of

the common good. Today you carry on that

work of love. Like them, you are called to

build bridges, to pasture Christ’s flock, and

to prepare fresh paths for the Gospel in Asia

at the dawn of a new age.

“The love of Christ impels us” (2 Cor

5:14). In today’s first reading Saint Paultells us that the love we are called to pro-

claim is a reconciling love, flowing from the

heart of the crucified Savior. We are called

to be “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor 5:20).

Ours is a ministry of reconciliation. We

proclaim the Good News of God’s infinite

love, mercy and compassion. We proclaimthe joy of the Gospel. For the Gospel is the

promise of God’s grace, which alone can

bring wholeness and healing to our broken

world. It can inspire the building of a truly

just and redeemed social order.

To be an ambassador for Christ means

above all to invite everyone to a renewed

personal encounter with the Lord Jesus

(Evangelii Gaudium, 3). This invitation

‘Te poor is at the center of the Gospel’

R u s s e l l P a l m a

R u s s e l l P a l m a

Pope Francis shares a laugh with the congregation when he reads from his homily, Jesus’ words to Peter, “Do you love me?” and everyone answers, “Yes!” atthe Manila Cathedral, Jan. 16, 2015.

The Holy Father pays a “surprise” visit to former street children of Tulay ng Kabataann (TNK) after his Mass at the Manila Cathedral, Jan. 16, 2015.

Little Swiss guards are deployed to serve the Holy Father during his Mass at the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica, Jan. 16, 2015.

must be at the core of your commemora-

tion of the evangelization of the Philip-

pines. But the Gospel is also a summons

to conversion, to an examination of our

consciences, as individuals and as a people.

As the Bishops of the Philippines have

rightly taught, the Church in the Philip-

pines is called to acknowledge and combat

the causes of the deeply rooted inequality

and injustice which mar the face of Filipino

society, plainly contradicting the teach-

ing of Christ. The Gospel calls individual

Christians to live lives of honesty, integrity

and concern for the common good. But it

also calls Christian communities to create

“circles of integrity”, networks of solidarity

which can expand to embrace and trans-

form society by their prophetic witness.

The poor. The poor are at the center ofthe Gospel. At the heart of the Gospel. If

we take away the poor from the Gospel, we

cannot understand the whole message of

Jesus Christ.

As ambassadors for Christ, we, bishops,

priests and religious, ought to be the first

to welcome his reconciling grace into our

hearts. Saint Paul makes clear what this

means. It means rejecting worldly per-

spectives and seeing all things anew in the

light of Christ. It means being the first to

examine our consciences, to acknowledge

our failings and sins, and to embrace the

path of constant conversion. Constant

conversion. Every day conversion. How

can we proclaim the newness and liberating

power of the Cross to others, if we ourselves

refuse to allow the word of God to shake our

complacency, our fear of change, our petty

compromises with the ways of this world,



B2 CBCP Monitor January 19 - February 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 2APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF POPE FRANCIS TO THE PHILIPPINES

The challenge of building modern societyon solid foundations

LADIES and Gentlemen,

I thank you, Mr. President, for your kindwelcome and for your words of greeting

in the name of the authorities and people

of the Philippines, and the distinguished

members of the Diplomatic Corps. I am

most grateful for your invitation to visit the

Philippines. My visit is above all pastoral.

It comes as the Church in this country is

preparing to celebrate the fifth centenary

of the first proclamation of the Gospel of

Jesus Christ on these shores. The Christian

message has had an immense influence

on Filipino culture. It is my hope that this

important anniversary will point to its

continuing fruitfulness and its potential

to inspire a society worthy of the goodness,

dignity and aspirations of the Filipino

people.

In a particular way, this visit is meant to

express my closeness to our brothers and

sisters who endured the suffering, loss and

devastation caused by Typhoon Yolanda.Together with many people throughout the

world, I have admired the heroic strength,

faith and resilience demonstrated by so

many Filipinos in the face of this natural

disaster, and so many others. Those virtues,

rooted not least in the hope and solidarity

instilled by Christian faith, gave rise to an

outpouring of goodness and generosity,

especially on the part of so many of the

young. In that moment of national crisis,

countless people came to the aid of their

neighbors in need. At great sacrifice, they

gave of their time and resources, creating

networks of mutual help and working for

the common good.

This example of solidarity in the work

of rebuilding teaches us an important

lesson. Like a family, every society draws

on its deepest resources in order to face

new challenges. Today the Philippines,

together with many other countries inAsia, faces the challenge of building on

solid foundations a modern society—a

society respectful of authentic human

values, protective of our God-given hu-

man dignity and rights, and ready to

confront new and complex political and

ethical questions. As many voices in your

nation have pointed out, it is now, more

than ever, necessary that political lead-

ers be outstanding for honesty, integrity

and commitment to the common good.

In this way they will help preserve the

rich human and natural resources with

which God has blessed this country. Thus

will they be able to marshal the moral

resources needed to face the demands

of the present, and to pass on to coming

generations a society of authentic justice,

solidarity and peace.

Essential to the attainment of these

national goals is the moral imperative of

ensuring social justice and respect for hu-

man dignity. The great biblical tradition

enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear

the voice of the poor. It bids us break the

bonds of inj ustice and oppression which

give rise to glaring, and indeed scandalous,

social inequalities. Reforming the social

structures which perpetuate poverty and

the exclusion of the poor first requires a

conversion of mind and heart.

The Bishops of the Philippines have

asked that this year be set aside as the “Year

of the Poor”. I hope that this prophetic sum-

mons will challenge everyone, at all levels

of society, to reject every form of corruption

which diverts resources from the poor, and

to make concerted efforts to ensure the

inclusion of every man and woman and

child in the life of the community.

A fundamental role in the renewal of

society is played, of course, by the familyand especially by young people. A high-

light of my visit will be my meetings with

families and with young people here in

Manila. Families have an indispensable

mission in society. It is in the family that

children are trained in sound values, high

ideals and genuine concern for others.

But like all God’s gifts, the family can also

be disfigured and destroyed. It needs our

support. We know how difficult it is for

our democracies today to preserve and

defend such basic human values as respect

for the inviolable dignity of each human

person, respect for the rights of conscience

and religious freedom, and respect for the

inalienable right to life, beginning with

that of the unborn and extending to that

of the elderly and infirm. For this reason,

families and local communities must be

encouraged and assisted in their efforts to

transmit to our young the values and thevision which can help bring about a culture

of integrity—one which honors goodness,

truthfulness, fidelity and solidarity as the

firm foundation and the moral glue which

holds society together.

Mr. President, distinguished authori-

ties, dear friends: As I begin my visit to

this country, I cannot fail to mention the

Philippines’ important role in fostering

understanding and cooperation among the

countries of Asia. I would also mention the

oft-neglected yet real contribution of Fili-

pinos of the diaspora to the life and welfare

of the societies in which they live. It is pre-

cisely in the light of the rich cultural and

religious heritage of which your country is

proud that I leave you with a challenge and

a word of prayerful encouragement. May

the deepest spiritual values of the Filipino

people continue to find expression in your

efforts to provide your fellow citizens withan integral human development.

In this way, each person will be able to ful-

fill his or her potential, and thus contribute

wisely and well to the future of this country.

I am confident that the praiseworthy efforts

to promote dialogue and cooperation be-

tween the followers of the different religions

will prove fruitful in the pursuit of this noble

goal. In a particular way, I express my trust

that the progress made in bringing peace to

the south of the country will result in just

solutions in accord with the nation’s found-

ing principles and respectful of the inalien-

able rights of all, including the indigenous

peoples and religious minorities.

Upon all of you, and upon all the men,

women and children of this beloved na-

tion, I cordially invoke God’s abundant

blessings.

THE angel of the Lord revealed

to Joseph the dangers which

threatened Jesus and Mary, forc-

ing them to flee to Egypt and

then to settle in Nazareth. So too,in our time, God calls upon us

to recognize the dangers threat-

ening our own families and to

protect them from harm. Be

attentive, be attentive with the

new ideological colonization.

[In Spanish] There is anideological colonization thatwe have to be careful of thattries to destroy the family. It’snot born of the dream that wehave with God from prayerand from the mission thatGod gives us. It comes outside.

And that’s why I say it’s colo-nization. Let us not lose thefreedom to take that missionforward that God has givenus. And just as our peoples in a

moment in their history were

able to say no to the period ofcolonization, as families we haveto be very wise and very strongwith fortitude to these initia-tives of ideological colonizationthat could destroy the familiesand to ask the intercession ofSt. Joseph, who is a friend of theangel, to know when to say yesand when to say no.

The pressures on family life

today are many. Here in the Phil-

ippines, countless families are

still suffering from the effects of

natural disasters. The economic

situation has caused families to

be sep ara ted by mig rati on and

the search for employment, and

financial problems strain many

households. While all too many

people live in dire poverty, others

are caught up in materialism and

lifestyles which are destructive

of family life and the most basic

demands of Christian morality.

This is the ideological coloniza-

tion. The family is also threatened

by growing e fforts on the part of

some to redefine the very institu-

tion of marriage, by relativism, bythe culture of the ephemeral, by a

lack of openness to life.

[In Spanish] I think of BlessedPaul VI, in a moment of thatchallenge of the growth of popu-lations, he had the strength

to defend openness to life. Heknew the difficulties that fami-lies experienced and that’s whyin his encyclical, he expressedcompassion for particular cases.

And he tau ght pro fes sor s tobe particularly compassionatewith particular cases. But hewent further. He looked to the

peoples beyond. He saw t he lackand the problem it could causefamilies in the future. Paul VIwas courageous, he was a good

pastor and he warned his sheep

about the wolves that wereapproaching. And from theheavens, he blesses us today.

Our world needs good and

strong families to overcomethese threats! The Philippines

needs holy and loving families

to protect the beauty and truth

of the family in God’s plan and

to be a support and example for

other families. Every threat to

the family is a threat to society

itself. The future of humanity,

as Saint John Paul II often said,

passes through the family (cf.

Familiaris Consortio , 85). The

future passes through the fam-

ily! So protect your families! See

in them your country’s great-

est treasure and nourish them

always by prayer and the grace

of the sacraments. Families will

always have their trials, but may

you never add to them! Instead,

N o e l L a v i n

R o y L a g a r d e

We know how difficult it is for our democracies today to

preserve and defend such basic human values as respect

for the inviolable dignity of each human person, respect for

the rights of conscience and religious freedom, and respect

for the inalienable right to life, beginning with that of the

unborn and extending to that of the elderly and infirm.

The family is also threatened

by growing efforts on the part

of some to redefine the very

institution of marriage, by

relativism, by the culture of

the ephemeral, by a lack ofopenness to life. Our world

needs good and strong families

to overcome these threats!

When families bring children

into the world, train them in

faith and sound values, and

teach them to contribute to

society, they become a blessing

in our world. God’s lovebecomes present and active

by the way of love and by the

good works that we do.

Address of His Holiness Pope Francis at the meeting with civil authorities and

the Diplomatic Corps at Malacañang Palace, January 16, 2015

Address of His Holiness Pope Francis at the Meeting of Families held at the

Mass of Asia Arena in Manila on January 16, 2015

Te family threatened by the growing effortto redefine the very institution of marriage

The Holy Father approaches and blesses little performers during the Meeting with the

Families at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Jan. 16, 2015.

The Holy Father was officially welcomed in a formal ceremony at the Malacañan where he also gave a message to the Philippine government, Jan. 16, 2015.

Family / B7




Homily of his Holiness Pope Francis at the Eucharistic Celebration

held in Tacloban City on January 17, 2015

Address of His Holiness Pope Francis at the

meeting with the clergy and religious in the

Palo Cathedral on January 17, 2015

‘When I saw this catastrophe from Rome, I feltthat I had to be here’

A n a l y n P e r u c h o


The Pope arrives at the Tacloban Airport to spend time with the people of the Visayas, Jan. 17, 2015.

A pilgrim brings her Sto. Niño to the papal Mass at the Tacloban Airport, Jan. 17, 2015. The Eucharistic celebration pushes through despite rain and strong wind.

THANK you for your very warm welcome. The

cardinal walking in now together with Cardinal

Tagle is the Cardinal Secretary of S tate, Cardinal

Parolin, and it is his birthday. Will you sing

him something? [Clergy and religious singbirthday greetings] Thank you.

I have to tell you something that makes me

unhappy: the problem is that the way things

were planned was that the plane would leave at

5pm this afternoon. But there’s a second grade

typhoon, or storm that’s around us and the pilot

of the plane has insisted we h ave to leave at 1pm.

We just have time to get to the plane because the

weather forecast says after 1pm it will get much

worse. So I apologize to all of you.

I am so sorry about this because I had some-

thing especially prepared for you. Let us leave

everything in the hands of Our Lady because I

have to go now. Do you know wha t the problem

is? Airplanes can’t land here, that’s the problem.

Let’s pray the “Hail Mary” together and then I

will give you my blessing.

(The following is the undelivered address)

DEAR Brothers and Sisters,I greet all of you with great affection in the

Lord. I am happy that we are able to meet in this

Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

This house of prayer, along with many others,

has been repaired thanks to the remarkable gen-

erosity of many people. It stands as an eloquent

sign of the immense effort of rebuilding which

you and your neighbors have undertaken inthe wake of the devastation caused by Typhoon

Yolanda. It is also a concrete reminder to all of

us that, even amid disaster and suffering, our

God is constantly at work, making all things

new.

Many of you have suffered greatly, not only

from the destruction caused by the storm, but

from the loss of family members and friends.

Today let us commend to God’s mercy all those

who have died, and invoke his consolation and

peace upon all who still grieve. May we remember

in a particular way those among us whose pain

makes it hard to see the way forward. At the same

time, let us thank the Lord for all those who

have labored in these months to clear away the

rubble, to visit the sick and dying, to comfort the

grieving and to bury the dead. Their goodness,

and the generous aid which c ame from so many

people throughout the world, are a real sign that

God never abandons us!

‘By your presence and your

charity, you bore witness to thebeauty and truth of the Gospel’

IF you allow me, I prefer today to

speak in Spanish. I have a transla-

tor, a good translator. May I do

this? May I? [Applause] Thank you

very much.

[Translation from Spanish] Thefirst reading that we heard says

that we have a high priest who is

capable of sympathizing with our

weaknesses, one who has similarly

been tested in every way bu t with-

out sin. Jesus is like us. Jesus lived

like us. He is the same as us in every

respect, except sin.

Because he was not a sinner, but to

be more like us, he assumed our con-

dition and our sin. He made himself

unto sin. This is what St. Paul tells

us. And Jesus always goes before us.

And when we pass and experience a

cross, he passed there before us. And

if today we find ourselves 14 months

afterward here, 14 months precisely

after the typhoon Yolanda hit, i t is

because we have the security of know-

ing that we’re not going to weaken in

our faith because Jesus has been there

before us. [applause] In his passion, heassumed all our pain.

I’d like to tell you something

close to my heart. When I saw, from

Rome, that catastrophe, I felt that I

had to be here. [applause]

And on those very days, I decided

to come here [applause].

I am here to be with you. A little

bit late, I have to say, but I’m he re

[applause].

I have come to tell you that Jesus

is Lord that he never lets us down.

“Father,” you might say to me, “I

was let down because I’ve lost so

many things, I lost my house, my

livelihood, my family. I’ve illness.”

It’s true if you would say that. And

I respect those sentiments. But Jesus

there nailed to the cross [indicat-

ing the crucifix]. And from there,

he does not let us down. [applause]

He was consecrated as Lord

on that throne and there he ex-

perienced all calamities that we

experience. Jesus is Lord. And he

is Lord from the cross. He is there

for you. Therefore he is capable of

understanding us, as we heard inthe first reading. In everything, the

same as us. That is why we have a

Lord who is capable of crying with

us, capable of walking with us in

the most difficult moments of life.

So many of you have lost every-

thing. I don’t know what to say to

you. But the Lord does know what

to say to you. Some of you lost part

of your families. All I can do is keep

silence. And I walk with you all with

my silent heart.

Many of you have asked the

Lord, “Why Lord?” And to each of

you, to your heart, Christ responds

from his heart upon the cross.

I have no more words to tell you.

Let us look to Christ. He is the Lord.

And he understands us because he

underwent all the trials that we,

that you have experienced.

And beside the cross was hismother. We are like this little child

just there, who in moments when

we have so much pain, when we

no longer understand anything,

all we can do is grab hold of her

hand firmly, and say, Mom, as a

child does to his mother when he

or she feels fear. It is perhaps the

only word that we can say in such

difficult times: Mother, Mom.

Let us together hold a moment of

silence. Let us look to Christ on the

cross. He understands us because

he endured everything. And let us

look to our mother, and like that

little child, let us grab hold of her

mantle, and with a true heart, say

Mother. In silence, let us say this

prayer. Say to the mother what you

feel in your hearts.

We are not alone. Let us know

that we have a mother Mary and

our great brother, Jesus. We are

not alone. And we also have many

brothers who in this moment of

catastrophe came to help you. And

we too, because of this, we feel more

broth ers and sist ers beca use wehelped each other.

This is what comes from my

heart and forgive me if I have no

other words to express this.

But please know Jesus never lets

you down. Please know that the love

and tenderness of Mother Mary

never lets you down. And hold-

ing on to her mantle and with the

power that comes from Jesus’ love

on the cross, let us move forward,

always forward. And walk together

as brothers and sisters in the Lord,

forward.

[In English:] Thank you very

much.

[After Communion, the Pope

added a prayer in Spanish. Here

is the simultaneous translation

provided by his translator:]

We have just celebrated the

passion, death, and resurrection ofChrist. Jesus preceded us. He went

there before us on the journey.

And he accompanies us every time

we come together to pray and cel-

ebrate. Thank you Lord for being

with us today. Thank you Lord for

sharing in our pain. Thank you

Lord for giving us hope. Thank you

Lord for your great mercy. Thank

you Lord because you wished to

be like one of us. Thank you Lord

because y ou are always near to us

even in the moments of the cross.

Thank you Lord for giving us hope.

Lord, may hope never be robbed

from us, taken away from us. Thank

you Lord because in the moments

of greatest darkness in your life, on

the cross, you remembered us and

you left us a mother, your mother.

Thank you Lord for not leaving us

orphans.

Here, in a special way, I would like to thank the

many priests and religious who responded with

such overwhelming generosity to the desperate

needs of the people of the areas hardest hit. By

your presence and your charity, you bore witness

to the beauty and truth of the Gospel. You made

the Church present as a source of hope, healing

and mercy. Together with so many of your neigh-

bors, you also demonstrated the deep faith and the

resilience of the Filipino people. The many stories

of goodness and self-sacrifice which emerged

from these dark days need to be remembered and

passed down for future generations.

A few moments ago, I blessed the new Center

for the Poor, which stands as another sign of the

Church’s care and concern for our brothers and

sisters in need. How many they are! And how

much our Lord loves them! Today, from this place

which has known such profound suffering and

human need, I ask that even more be done for the

poor. Above all, I ask that the poor throughout

this country be treated fairly—that their dignity

be respe cted, tha t politica l and economi c policie s

be ju st and inclu sive, that opport unitie s for em-

ployment and education be developed, and that

obstacles to the delivery of social services be re-

moved. Our treatment of the poor is the criterion

on which each of us will be judged (cf. Mt 25:40,

45). I ask all of you, and all responsible for the

good of society, to renew your commitment to

social justice and the betterment of the poor, both

here and in the Philippines as a whole.

Finally, I would like to say a word of sincerethanks to the young people present, including

the seminarians and young religious. Many of

you showed heroic generosity in the aftermath of

the typhoon. I hope that you will always realize

that true happiness comes from helping others,

giving ourselves to them in self-sacrifice, mercy

and compassion. In this way you will be a powerful

force for the renewal of society, not only in the

work of restoring buildings but more importantly,

in building up God’s kingdom of holiness, justice

and peace in your native land.

Dear priests and religious, dear families and

friends, in this Cathedral of the Transfiguration

of the Lord let us ask that our lives continue to

be susta ined and tra nsfigu red by the powe r of his

resurrection. I commend all of you to the loving

protection of Mary, Mother of the Church. May

she obtain for you, and for all th e beloved people

of these lands, the Lord’s blessings of comfort, joy

and peace. God bless you all!

Many of you showed heroic generosity

in the aftermath of the typhoon.

I hope that you will always realizethat true happiness comes from helping others,

giving ourselves to them in

self-sacrifice, mercy and compassion.

I am here to be with you.

A little bit late, I have to say,

but I’m here.




Encounter with the Youth

Testimonies from the youth

J o h n P a u l A u t o r

T r i s h a R e m i g i o

C a r l C a s t i l l o

V i t o r i o

F l o j o

Mr. Jun Chura

Out of School Youth

Tulay Ng Kabataan Founda-

tion, Inc.

Archdiocese of Manila

Dear Holy Father,

My name is Jun Chura, I am

fourteen years old, and I am a

former street child.

Because of the fact that my

family was not anymore able to

send me to school, I went away

from home and left my family.

Then I was feeding myself

with what I can find in the

garbage. I did not know where

to go and I was sleeping on the

sidewalk.

I was looking for a piece of

carton to make a mat. And I

was trying to overcome this

situation even if my body was

so dirty like my companions

in the street . They were also

overcoming their situations in

spite of the fact that their bod-

ies were dirty also.

I did not know also how to

find food day after day, and

what I was doing was ju st to wait

for people to finish their meal in

restaurant, then I was asking for

Mr. Leandro Santos II

Civil Law Student, University of

Santo Tomas

Beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis:

Good day! I am Leandro Santos II,

a student of the Faculty of Civil Law,

from the University of Santo Tomas,

Manila. Honored and pleased are

statements that fall short in captur-

ing the emotions that I now feel. I

only wish that the words that I am

about to utter be representative of

the true heart and soul of all the

Filipino Students out there in the

landscape of today’s culture.

Holy Father, we, the students of

today, are so fortunate to have the

abundance of information available

before us. Because of the emergence

of the Internet and the boom of so-

cial media, information and knowl-

edge has been readily available. The

traditional learning coupled by the

reinforcement provided by tech-

nology appears to be so promising

that community expects better and

brighter breeds of students.

Heroes that built nations and

Mr. Rikki MacolorElectronics Engineer

Yolanda Relief Volunteer

Inventor of Solar Night Light for

Typhoon Yolanda Survivors

Dear Pope Francis,

My name is Rikki Macolor. I

am 29 years old from Manila. I

am a fresh graduate from the Fac-

ulty of Engineering, University ofSanto Tomas. It has been over a

year since the Yolanda incident

has happened. However, my body

could still remember the sensa-

tions that I felt when I alighted a

cargo plane in Leyte; The stench,

distraught and despair. I started

to question myself if our research

would even have any impact to

any of the communities. I hope it

would. I prayed it would.

Our project was simple: To pro-

vide lighting and, somehow, to

also shed some light of hope to the

calamity stricken communities.

It was not high tech and I didn’t

expect it to be big. I did neither

dreamt of a flying robot nor a really

fancy gadget. I just wanted to create

something with my colleagues to

be able to h elp the best way thatwe could. Additionally, I wanted

Welcome Message

By Most Rev. Leopoldo Jaucian, SVD, DD

Chairman, Episcopal Commission on Youth

YOUR Holiness,

We thank God for the grace of your visit to us now. The Filipino

youth sees in you as the Good Shepherd showing compassion to

the lambs, especially to the lost, the least and the last. Our young

people comprises majority of our Philippine population. They are

full of innocence and idealism, with creative talents and big dreams

for a better future. We thank you, Holy Father, for believing in

their energy and eagerness, their honesty and hope, that they are

gifts of the Church and treasures for the world.

Some of them experience different forms of poverty, the lack

of basic needs, food, shelter and clothing, becoming victims of

abuse, calamities and conflicts. They see in you as their Father who

listens to their crises, their hopes and their dreams. They have full

trust and confidence in the cross of Christ, as the manifestation

of God’s boundless mercy and compassion. Amidst the different

crosses they bear, they remain religious, faithful and loving sons

and daughters of Holy Mother Church.

As Jesus embraced, blessed and placed his hands on the children,

the Filipino Youth seek your Fatherly bless ing and by God’s grace be renewed in telling the world of His love.

Welcome! Mabuhay ang Santo Papa!

their leftover. Also sometimes I

was roaming around just to find

br ok en ma te ri al th at I co ul d

sell: I was looking for plastic

bott les , o r p ape rs and whe n m y

bag was ful l, I was sel lin g it to

make some money to buy some

food. It happened also that I was

knocking at doors in the neigh-

bo rh oo d to be g fo r fo od bu t

often they had nothing to give.

When I was in the street, I

witness also things I don’t like,

terrible things that happened to

my companions in the street: I

saw that they were taught how

to steal, to kill also, and they

have no respect anymore for the

adults. Sometimes they were

quarreling because of the things

they stole. I saw also some chil-

dren who were taught how to

use drugs like shabu, cigarettes

or marijuana.

I saw also some of my com-

panions snif f ing so lvent or

glue. These are drugs also. This

is what I have often seen hap-

pening to my companions in

the street. When I was in the

street I was also very careful

bec au se I sa w als o som e of my

friends being fooled by adults.

helped shaped the world were born

in a time without all of these sup-

ports. If their promising values were

molded in such a time where sources

are limited, society demands that

more heroes should rise up now

due to the amount of support that is

already served in front of us.

But the emergence of information

also caused the emergence of sources

of distraction. The students of today

have more excuses now than our

Filipino heroes had before.

With all of these, there exists

a struggle on the way we use and

process these pieces of information.

A lot of them are going to waste,

many of us are overwhelmed, we

are distracted and our initiatives are

scattered. Despite the advantages we

have, we still feel lost and most of

the time our focus is compromised.

The end purpose of technology,

which is to equip and prepare us

for the future ahead, is greatly chal-

lenged. As a young working student

myself, I can personally attest that

the distractions are difficult to

avoid. The pleasures it temporar-

to be able to utilize what we have

learned from the University. So, I

challenged myself and other stu-

dents to do something. Make them

realize that what good is it to know

something but not be able to ben-

efit our country from it especially

at times of calamities.

I told them: “What we create does

not have to be high tech. That is

not what innovation is all about.Innovation is about being able to

change other people’s lives.” And so

we did. With the help of experts and

NGOs, sectors of the government

and UST, we were able to make the

portable Solar Light.

However, I didn’t want it to end

there. I wanted to be able to share

the technology selflessly. Part of

the project was to be able to teach

the locals to be able to make it on

their own. So instead of just giving

it to them, we taught them how to

make it. For them to appreciate the

value of work and that despite all

these there was still hope and that

no one will be able to help them

recover spiritually but themselves.

It was difficult, time consuming,

out of our comfort zone and even,

to a certain extent, putting ourlives on the line. I was in Davao

TNK / B7

Law / B7

University of Santo Tomas, January 18, 2015

They were pretending to give

us money to catch attention

and approach the children and

let them think that they will

be gi ven som et hi ng to ea t, or

the opportunity to study and

care, but the truth is that they

have other goal and they will

use you, like for cleaning their

homes, and sometimes they

have malicious goals like sexual

abuse. There are so many abuseshappening in the street!

After a certain number of

days, suddenly I found back

hope because there is a street

educator from Tulay ng Ka-

ba taa n Fou nda tio n, who as ke d

me if I want to join this agency

helping children living in the

street. He asked me if I wanted

to join, and at first I decline

the proposal. Few days after,

when I learned that Tulay ng

Kabataan is really taking care

of street children who are not

anymore with their families,

I realized that not all people

have no heart. There are still

people with hearts ready to help

children in need.

When I joined Tulay ng Ka-

ily bring, are appreciated by many

as validation. The small amounts

of contentment these distractions

bring are being enough for s ome

to live-by not considering the fact

that this is in exchange of the un-

imaginable potentials we could get

if only we are to focus on the things

that matters.

Dear Holy Father, we need help.

We need guidance. We need to learn

to accept that the only validation we

need is the one coming from Him.

In this particular moment, in the

ever changing world, we the students

need our values reassessed.

Reassessing our values as students

is crucial if not the most crucial in

the formation of our being. That in

order to accomplish and live up to

the expectations and responsibility

we have towards the community,

our values must be intact. And these

values can only be best determined

by making effort to hear God. Our

neglect of the teachings of the

church is what attracts and draws

us to distraction. The absence of His

with a handful other students when

Yolanda hit. I could still recall the

rumbling of the plane as it landed

on the airport.

Regardless, it was not for us. It

was for these people who already

lost so much. It is also not every

day that you have the opportunity

to help people in a great deal. With

hard work, patience and work-

ing together, we were able to dosomething even in our capacity as

students. We were able to help not

only several communities such as

Davao, Leyte, Cebu, Laguna, Tar-

lac, Tondo, Aklan but also parts of

Pakistan and India.

I guess that is what living is all

about. That we are not isolated en-

tities but part of something bigger.

And at times, we may have to leave

everything behind momentarily to

share part of ourselves.

Questions to the Pope:

Dear Pope Francis, how can we be

successful without being blinded by

earthly pursuits? How can we pur-

sue success and prosperity without

being worldly? What more can the

youth do? How can we, especially

the youth, be agents of mercy andcompassion?




‘It was a frail child who brought Gods goodness,mercy and justice into the world’

‘Marginalized people weep’

D o m i n i c B a r r i o s

D o m i n i c B a r r i o s

DEAR young friends, when I speak spon-

taneously, I do it in Spanish. No? Because I

don’t know the English language. May I do

it? [Applause.] Yes! Thank you very much.

He is Fr. Mark, a good translator.

First of all, there’s sad news today: Yes-terday as Mass was about to start, a piece

of the scaffolding fell and upon falling, it

hit a young woman who was working in

the area. And she died. Her name is Kris-

tel. She worked for the organization and

preparation for that very Mass. She was 27

years old, young like yourselves. She worked

for [an organization called Catholic Relief

Services], a volunteer worker. I would like all

of you, young like her, to pray for a moment

in silence with me and then we pray to our

[mother], Our Lady in heaven.

Let us pray. [Ave Maria … Hail Mary] Let us also pray for her parents. She was

the only daughter. Her mom is coming from

Hong Kong and her father has come to Ma-

nila to wait. [Our Father who art in heaven]

[In English, from t he prepared text:] It is a joy for me to be with you this morn-

ing. I greet each of you from the heart, and

I thank all those who made this meetingpossible. During my visit to the Philippines,

I wanted in a particular way to meet with

young people, to listen to you and to talk

with you. I want to express the love and the

hopes of the Church for you. And I want to

encourage you, as Christian citizens of this

country, to offer yourselves passionately

and honestly to the great work of renewing

your society and helping to build a better

world.

In a special way, I thank the young people

who have offered words of welcome to me.

Thank you very much.

And only a very small representation of

females among you. Too little, eh?

[Laughter. Note: There were three young

men who spoke and one young woman,

who accompanied the first speaker, a child

who had been rescued from the street. She

asked the question to the Pope, regarding

the injustices suffered by children such as

prostitution and abandonment, Why is God

allowing such things to happen, even if it

is not the fault of the children? And why

are there only very few people helping us? ]

Women have much to tell us is today’s

society. [Applause] Sometimes we are

too ‘machistas’ and we don’t allow room

for the woman, but women are capable of

seeing things from a different angle to us,

with a different eye. Women are able to

pose questions that we men are not able

to understand. Look at this fact today. She

[Glyzelle] is the only one who has posed a

question for which there is no answer. And

she wasn’t even able to express it in words,

but rather in tears. So when the next Pope

comes [to Manila], please more girls/women

among the number. [Applause] I thank you Jun that you ha ve expressed

yourself so bravely. The nucleus of your

question, as I’ve said, almost doesn’t have a

reply. Only when we too can cry about the

things which you’ve said are we able to come

close to replying to that question. Why do

children suffer so much? Why do children

suffer? When the heart is able to ask itselfand cry then we can understand something.

There is a worldly compassion which

is useless. You spoke something of this.

A compassion which moreover leads us

to put our hand into the pocket and give

something to someone, to the poor. If Christ

had had that kind of compassion he would

have walked by, greeted three people, and

moved on [returned to the Father]. But it

was only when Christ cried and was capable

of crying, he understood our lives, what is

going on in our lives.

Dear girls, boys, young people, in today’s

world there is a great lack of capacity of

knowing how to cry. The marginalized

people weep. Those that are left to one side

are crying. Those who are discarded are cry-

ing. But [those of us who live a life more or

less without needs don’t know how to cry.]

Certain realities in life we only see through

eyes that are cleansed through our tears.I invite each one of you here to ask your-

self, have I learned how to weep, how to cry?

[When I see a child with hunger, a child on

drugs on the street, a child who doesn’t have

a house, a child abandoned, a child abused, a

child used by a society, as a slave]? Unfortu-

nately, there are those who cry because they

want something more. This is the first thing

I’d like to say. Let us learn how to weep, as

she has shown us today [indicating the girl

who asked the question]. Let us not forget

this lesson. The great question of why so

many children suffer, she asked crying.

And the great response that we can make

today is, let us learn, really learn how to

weep, how to cry.

Jesus in the Gospel, he cried. He cried for

his dead friend. He cried in his heart for

the family that had lost its daughter. He

cried when he saw the poor widow having

to bury her son. And he was moved to tears,

to compassion when he saw the multitude of

crowds without a pastor. If you don’t learn

how to cry, you can’t be good Christians.

This is a challenge. Jun and Glyzelle have

posed this challenge to us today. And when

they pose this question to us, why children

suffer, why this and that tragedy occurs in

life, our response must either be silence or

a word that is born of our tears. Be coura-

geous. Don’t be frightened of crying.

Then came Leandros Santos II and his

question. He also posed questions. The

world of information. Today with so many

means of communication we are overloaded

with information. And is that bad? No. It

is good and it can help. But there is a real

danger of living in a way of accumulating

information. And we have so much infor-

mation. But maybe we don’t know what to

do with that information. We run the risk

of becoming [museum-youth], who have

everything but don’t know what to do. We

don’t need youth-museums, but we do need

[wise youth]. You might ask me, “Father

how do we become [wise]? This is another

challenge. The challenge of love.Which is the most important subject that

you have to learn in university? What is the

most important subject you have to learn

in life? To learn how to love. This is the

challenge that life offers you: To learn how

to love. Not just accu mulating information

without knowing what to do with it. But

through that love, that that information

bear fruit.

And for this the Gospel offers a serene

path and way forward. To use the three lan-

guages: the language of the mind, the lan-

guage of the heart and the language of the

hands. And the three languages, to use them

in harmony. What you think, you must feel,

and put into effect That information comes

down to your heart and you realize it in real

works. And this, harmoniously. Think what

you feel and what you do. To feel what you

think and do. To do what you think and

what you feel. The three languages.

Can you repeat this? To think, to feel and

to do. [Youth repeat three times] And all of

that, harmoniously.

Real love is about loving and letting

yourselves be loved. [It is more difficult to

let yourselves be loved than to love.] That is

why it is so difficult to come to the perfect

love of God. Because we can love him, but

the important thing is to let yourselves be

loved by him. Real love is opening your-

selves to the love that wants to come to you,

which causes surprise in us. If you only have

information, then the element of surprise

is gone. Love opens you to surprise and is a

surprise because it presupposes a dialogue

between the two, [between the one lovingand the one being loved.] And we say that

God is a God of surprises because he always

loved us first and he awaits us with a sur-

prise. God surprises us.

Let us allow ourselves to be surprised by

God. Let us not have the psychology of the

computer to think we know it all.

All the responses on the computer screen

but no real surprise. In the challenge of love,

God reveals himself through surprises.

Let’s think of St. Matthew, a good finan-

cier, and he let people down because he

imposed taxes against his own citizens, the

Jews, to give to the Romans. He was full of

money and charged these taxes. But then

Jesus goes by, looks at him, and said, follow

me. He couldn’t believe it.

If you have time, go and see the picture

that Caravaggio painted of this scene. Jesus

calls him and those around him said, “This

one? He’s betrayed? He’s no good.” And he

holds money to himself. But the surprise

of being loved overcomes him and [he fol-

lows Jesus.]

That day when Matthew left his home,

said good-bye to his wife, he never thought

he was going to come back without money,

and concerned about how to have such a big

feast, to prepare that feast for him who had

loved him first, who had surprised Matthew

with something very special, more impor-

tant than all the money that Matthew had.

Allow yourselves to be surprised by God.

Don’t be frightened of surprises. They shake

the ground from under your feet, and they

make us unsure. But they move us forward

in the right direction. Real love leads youto spend yourselves in life. [Even with the

risk of finishing with your hands empty].

Let us think of St. Francis. He died with

empty hands, empty pockets, but with a very

full heart. Not youth-museums, but wise

youth. To be wise, use the three languages:

To think well, to feel well and to do well.

And to be wise, allow yourselves to be sur-

prised by the love of God. That is a good life.

Thank you.

And he who came with a good plan to

show us how to go in life was Ricky. With

all the activities, the multiple facets that

accompany young people. Thank you Ricky,

for what you do, and your friends. But I’d

like to ask you Ricky, a question: You and

your friends are going to give. Give help. But

do you allow yourselves to receive? Ricky,

answer in your heart.

In the Gospel we just heard, there is a

beautiful phrase that for me is the most

important of all. The Gospel says that he

looked at the young man, Jesus looked at

him, and he loved him. When one sees a

group of friends, Ricky and his friends, one

loves them much because they do things

that are very good. But the most important

phrase that Jesus says, “You lack one thing.”

Let us listen to this word of Jesus in

silence. You lack only one thing. You lack

A CHILD is born to us, a son is

given us (Is 9:5). It is a special joy

for me to celebrate Santo Niño

Sunday with you. The image of the

Holy Child Jesus accompanied the

spread of the Gospel in this coun-

try from the beginning. Dressed

in the robes of a king, crowned

and holding the scepter, the globe

and the cross, he continues to re-

mind us of the link between God’s

Kingdom and the mystery of spiri-

tual childhood. He tells us this

in today’s Gospel: Whoever does

not accept the Kingdom of Godlike a child will not enter it (Mk

Address of His Holiness Pope Francis at his meeting with the youth

at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on January 18, 2015

Homily of Pope Francis at the final mass of his Apostolic Journey to the Philippines,

Quirino Grandstand, January 18, 2015

10:15). The Santo Niño continues

to proclaim to us that the light

of God’s grace has shone upon a

world dwelling in darkness, bring-

ing the Good News of our freedom

from slavery, and guiding us in the

paths of peace, right and justice.

The Santo Niño also reminds us

of our call to spread the reign of

Christ throughout the world.

In these days, throughout my

visit, I have listened to you sing

the song: We are all God’s chil-

dren. That is what the Santo

Niño tells us. He reminds us ofour deepest identity. All of us are

Gods children, members of Gods

family. Today Saint Paul has told

us that in Christ we have become

Gods adopted children, brothers

and sisters in Christ. This is who

we are. This is our identity. We

saw a beautiful expression of this

when Filipinos rallied around our

broth ers and sist ers affe cted by

the typhoon.

The Apostle tells us that be-

cause God chose us, we have been

richly blessed! God has blessed

us in Christ with every spiritual

blessing in the heavens (Eph 1: 3).These words have a special reso-

nance in the Philippines, for it

is the foremost Catholic country

in Asia; this is itself a special gift

of God, a blessing. But it is also a

vocation. Filipinos are called to

be outstanding missionaries of the

faith in Asia.

God chose and blessed us for a

purpose: to be holy and blameless

in his sight (Eph 1:4). He chose

us, each of us to be witnesses of

his truth and his justice in this

world. He created the world as

a beautiful garden and asked us

to care for it. But through sin,

Weep / B7

Child / B7

Only when we too can cry about the

things which you’ve said are we able to

come close to replying to that question.

Why do children suffer so much? Why

do children suffer? When the heart is

able to ask itself and cry then we canunderstand something.

Santo Niño reminds us of our

deepest identity. All of us are

God’s children, members of

Gods family. In Christ, we have

become Gods adopted children,

brothers and sisters. This is who

we are. This is our identity.

The Christ Child is the protectorof this great country. When he

came into the world, his very

life was threatened by a corrupt

king. Jesus himself needed to

be protected. He had an earthly

protector and an earthly family.




His Eminence Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of

Manila, Quirino Grandstand, January 18, 2015

Most Rev. Socrates Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayan-

Dagupan, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of

the Philippines, Quirino Grandstand, January 18, 2015

Every Filipino wants to go with

you—not to Rome—but to the

peripheries, to the shanties, to

prison cells, to hospitals, to the

world of politics, finance, arts,

sciences, culture, education, and

social communications.

Archbishop John Du, Archbishop of Palo, Tacloban City, January 17, 2015

Post-Communion Message

Thanksgiving Message

Post-communion Word of Thanks

MOST Holy Father,

In the name of the Archdiocese

of Manila, the people who worked

tirelessly for your pastoral visit, andthe Filipinos whom you have been

strengthened in faith these past

days, I once again say Thank You.

I say “Maraming Salamat po ”(Thank you very much) on behalf

of the street children, the orphans,

the widows, the homeless, the

informal settlers, the laborers, the

farmers, the fisher folk, the sick, the

abandoned elderly, the families of

missing persons, the victims of dis-

crimination, violence, abused, ex-

ploitation, human trafficking, the

Filipino migrant workers and their

families, the survivors of natural

calamities and armed conflicts, the

non-Christian Catholics, the fol-

lowers of non-Christian religions,

the promoters of peace especially

in Mindanao and creation that

groans. We say again, “Maramingsalamat po , Santo Padre.”

C B C P N e w s

J o h a n n M a n g u s s a d


You often end you encounters

with people by saying, “I ask you to

pray for me.” We promise to pray

for you. But we want to assure you

that Jesus prays for you. Jesu s him-

self declared to Peter, “I have prayed

for you that your own faith may notfail.” (Luke 22:23). Your Holiness,

you are blessed. Jesus prays for you.

We your beloved Filipinos unite

ourselves with Jesus in praying for

you to God the Father.

You arrived in the Philip-

pine three days ago. Tomor-

row you will go. Every Filipinowants to go with you—not to

Rome—but to the peripheries,

to the shanties, to prison cells,

to hospitals , to the world of

politics, finance, arts, sciences,culture, education, and social

communications. We will go to

these worlds to bring the light

of Jesus—Jesus who is the center

of your pastoral visit and the

cornerstone of the Church. We

will go where the light of Jesus

is needed. Here in Luneta, the

Quirino Grandstand, where he-

roes are revered, newly elected

presidents take office and popes

meet the Filipino faithful, here

in a place of new beginnings,

send us forth as missionaries of

the light. Before you go, Holy

Father, send us to spread the

light of Jesus. Wherever the

light of Jesus shines, you and the

Filipino people will always be

united. Mabuhay, Santo Padre!

Mabuhay si Kristo! Let the lightof Christ shine!

MOST Holy Father:

The sun is now setting on Manila Bay.

The romantic poets among us call the Ma-

nila Bay sunset view as the most beautiful

sunset in the world. The setting sun ends

the day. The sunset ushers in the twilight.

Some of us are afraid of the sunset as we

are afraid of the dark. But we are not afraid

anymore. In the many days and months

and years ahead, we will always bask in the

sunrise because you have brought us awe-

some sunshine to last us many lifetimes.

Holy Father you are our sunshine!

For many days since you came last

Thursday, it has been always sunrise of

smiles for us Filipinos. You have brought

us joy. You have brought us hope. You brought us warmth. You have brought

us Jesus. When you give us the blessings

tonight, we promise you “ We will be your

lights; we will be the lights of Jesus for Asia

and the world.” We will light the world with

the mercy and compassion of Jesus. We will

light the world with the joy of the Gospel.

On behalf of the bishops of the Philip-

pines please receive Most Holy Father our

message of gratitude for celebrating the

fiesta of Santo Niño with us today. We are

a nation of children, beautiful children,

holy children, God-loving children. The

children of the Philippines are our sunshine

too. Children are our happiness. Children

are our hope. Children are our wealth!

We are all children of our loving Father

in heaven.

Thank you for being a child of God with

us, among us. You are our Father. You areour brother. You are our friend. You are

our inspiration. You are our sunshine! Pope

Francis we love you!

The children of the Philippines are

our sunshine too.

Children are our happiness.

Children are our hope.

Children are our wealth!

We are all children of our loving

Father in heaven.

JESUS is L ord! He w ill never let

us down. Thank you very much

for that inspiring word most Holy

Father. Praise be Jesus Christ!

And our Blessed Mother to ac-

company us on this very trying

moment of our life.

Most Holy Father, I would

never have imagined that I would

be ab le to s ay th ese wo rds in thisvery place in front of Your Holi-

ness in the presence of so many

pilgrims. We are on Yolanda

ground zero. In this very place

where we are standing on that

fateful day of November 8, 2013,

aside from the more than 300

kilometer-per-hour of howling

winds, storm surge of over 6 me-

ters in height, crushed over the

placed destroying thousands of

homes and killing an enumerable

number of people. Many bodies

were even washed ashore to the

other side of the city across the

Cancabato Bay.

The suffering of our people

defies imagination. Yet in the

midst of pain and suffering it was

our Christian faith that helped us

through. The prayers, solidarityand the material help from many

people from all over the world

that came the following days

booste d our d roppi ng spi rits a nd

inspired us to move on. That is

why your presence here inspires

me to give praise to God who out

of untold catastrophe has gifted

us with this once in a life time

opportunity to come as one with

you in joyful thanksgiving.Our deep appreciation for your

presence most Holy Father, you

come in spite of this weather here

in Leyte, the Archdiocese of Pa lo.

We could hardly express in words

our thanksgiving to you. Let our

unity then on this blessed day,

in this hallowed place be the su-

preme manifestation of our faith

that inspires one to thank God

and to rejoice always even amidst

trials and tribulations.

We are deeply filled with joy

and consolation that you have

celebrated this Eucharist with us,

this great act of thanksgiving to

God, which is a constant source

of strength and fount of hope in

our Christian life. We know that

you have been with us all this

time since the time when youknew that we have been hit by a

very strong typhoon. And your

coming here culminates the great

outpouring of spiritual and mate-

rial assistances from the church

for us. Your Holiness you have

come to us with the father’s com-

passion and loving concern. And

thus, have brought us to God, the

Father of all. You have also come

as a shepherd of the Lord’s flock,and thus has brought us closer to

the Good Shepherd himself. Your

visit strengthens and consoles

us. May your humble presence

among the poor and among us

here gathered with you who have

suffered the tragedy of the super

typhoon ever lead us to the restful

waters of God’s mercy and love.

We will always be grateful.

For, indeed, as the psalmist says

“The Lord will not abandon his

people nor will he forsake his

inheritance.” Jesus will never let

us down. Thank you. Thank you

very much for that inspiring…

and really bring us… moving

us forward. And thank you very

much for coming. And you have

just exp erienc ed the “rea lidad” of

our life here. Thank You. Blessed be God foreve r!

An estimated 6-7 million people flocked to Luneta Park in Manila to attend the concluding Mass of Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines. The faithful were askedto bring their Santo Niño images to the Eucharistic celebration.

Thousands of pilgrims, many of whom stayed overnight at the venue, attend a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at the Tacloban Airport, Jan. 17, 2015.




B a s i l i o S e p e

GRACIAS Señor!

Gracias Santo Padre!

Gracias!

Thank you!

Salamat!

In Tacloban, Holy Father, your

voice pierced through the rains

and strong winds. From your

heart you intoned, Gracias!, look-

ing up to the dark skies but clearly

to heaven, and your gaze moving

from the people patiently stand-

ing in the rain, to the image of

the Blessed Mother tenderly

holding the baby Jesus in her

arms. Gracias!

You thanked the Lord for not

leaving us orphans amidst des-

peration, loss, misery and pain.

And at that moment we were one

with you in your thanksgiving

to God. But we were also lifting

up our own gratitude to God

for sending you to us. We know

that you, too, will not leave usorphans. That you will be with

us, suffering with us who are poor,

aged, sick, disabled, deaf, crippled,

abandoned and ignored.

Gracias Santo Padre for your

tenderness as you comforted us

and reassured us that Jesus will

never abandon us.

Gracias Santo Padre for your

warm smile that also came from

your eyes, penetrating our heart,

even our soul. How easily your

smile came when you caught sight

of the people jubilantly gathered

to greet you in the streets, espe-

cially, unmindful of the heat, and

in Tacloban and Palo, unmindful

of the rain and wind. How sponta-

neously did your face brighten at

the sight of the young people and

the children whom you embracedand carried in your arms.

Gracias Santo Padre for person-

ally showing us the face of mercy

and compassion; the human face

Statement at Departure of Pope Francisfrom the Philippines

of Jesus Christ, the joy of the Good

News in your words.

Gracias Santo Padre! We will

never forget these five days. Our

children and their children will

never forget these five days, be-

cause we will tell them the stories

of these five grace-filled days and

they will tell them to their chil-

dren. Your words in our storieswill be imbedded in our and their

hearts; a constant reminder of

the love of Jesus; a voice pricking

our conscience: love the poor,

Weep / B5

Child / B5

TNK / B4

Family / B2Poor / B1 Law / B4

only one thing. [Youth repeat] What

is it that I lack? To all who Jesus

loves so much, I ask you, do you

allow others to give you from their

riches to you who don’t have those

riches? The Sadducees, the doctors

of the law, in the time of Jesus, gave

much to the people, the law, they

taught them. But they never allowed

the people to give them something.

Jesus had to come to allow himself

to feel compassion, to be loved. How

many young people among you are

there like this? You know how to

give and yet you haven’t yet learned

how to receive. You lack only one

thing: [In English] Become a beg-gar. Become a beggar… to become

a beggar. This is what you lack. To

learn how to beg. And to those to

whom we give.

This isn’t easy to understand. To

learn how to beg. To learn how to

receive [from the humility of those

we help]. To learn to be evangelized

by the poor. Those we help. The

infirm, the orphans. They have so

much to offer us. Have I learned

how to beg also for that? Or do I

feel self-sufficient, and I am only

going to offer something. You give

and think that you have no need

of anything. Do you know that

you too are poor? Do you know

your poverty and the need that youreceive? Do you let yourselves be

man has disfigured that natural

beauty; th rough sin, ma n has also

destroyed the unity and beauty

of our human family, creating

social structures which perpetuate

poverty, ignorance and corruption.

Sometimes, when we see the

troubles, difficulties and wrongs all

around us, we are tempted to give

up. It seems that the promises of

the Gospel do not apply; they are

unreal. But the Bible tells us that

the great threat to Gods plan for us

is, and always has been, the lie. The

devil is the father of lies. Often hehides his snares behind the appear-

evangelized by those you serve, let

them give to you? And this is what

helps you mature in your commit-

ment to give to the others. To learn

how to offer your hand from your

very own poverty.

There were some points that I

had prepared.

To learn how to love and to learn

how to be loved. There is a challenge

which is a challenge of integrity.

[In English, returning to histext:] This is not only because this

country, more than many others,

is likely to be seriously affected by

climate change.

There is the challenge, the con-cern for the environment. And

finally, the challenge of the poor.

[ Spanish:] To love the poor.

[Your bishops want you to lookupon the poor in a special waythis year.] Do you think of the

poor. Do you feel with the poor,

do something for the poor. And do

you ask the poor that they might

give you the wisdom that they have?

This is what I wished to tell you

all today. Sorry, I haven’t read what

I prepared for you. [But there is a phrase that consoles me]: Reality

is superior to ideas. And the reality

that [you have proposed] that you all

have is superior to the paper I have

in front of me.Thank you very much.

ance of sophistication, the allure of

being modern, like eve ryone else.

He distracts us with the promise

of ephemeral pleasures, superficial

pastimes. And so we squander our

God-given gifts by tinkering with

gadgets; we squander our money

on gambling and drink; we turn in

on ourselves. We forget to remain

focused on the things that really

matter. We forget to remain, at

heart, children of God. For chil-

dren, as the Lord tells us, have

their own wisdom, which is not the

wisdom of the world. That is whythe message of the Santo Niño is so

always have hope amidst trials,

keep faith in the Lord, and pray,

always pray. It is the voice of Jesus

telling us, I am with you and I will

not leave you orphans.

G racias ! G racias ! Thank

you!

Salamat po! Pope Francis sa

pagbisita sa amin. Mahal ka na-

min! Salamat!

+SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS

Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan

CBCP President J u n B a y o t

J o h a n n M a n g u s s a d

our “spiritual worldliness” (cf. EvangeliiGaudium, 93)?

For us priests and consecrated persons,

conversion to the newness of the Gospel

entails a daily encounter with the Lord in

prayer. The saints teach us that this is the

source of all apostolic zeal! For religious,

living the newness of the Gospel also means

finding ever anew in community life and

community apostolate the incentive for an

ever closer union with the Lord in perfect

charity. For all of us, it means living lives

that reflect the poverty of Christ, whose

entire life was focused on doing the will ofthe Father and serving others.

The great danger to this, of course, is a

certain materialism which can creep into

our lives and compromise the witness we

offer. Only by becoming poor ourselves,

by becoming poor ourselves, by stripping

away our complacency, will we be able to

identify with the least of our brothers and

sisters. We will see things in a new light and

thus respond with honesty and integrity to

the challenge of proclaiming the radicalism

of the Gospel in a society which has grown

comfortable with social exclusion, polariza-

tion and scandalous inequality.

Here I would like to say a special word

to the young priests, religious and seminar-

ians among us. I ask you to share the joy and

enthusiasm of your love for Christ and the

Church with everyone, but especially with

your peers. Be present to young people

who may be confused and despondent, yetcontinue to see the Church as their friend

on the journey and a source of hope.

Be present to those who, living in the

midst of a society burdened by poverty and

corruption, are broken in spirit, tempted to

give up, to leave school and to live on the

streets. Proclaim the beauty and truth of

the Christian message to a society which

is tempted by confusing presentations of

sexuality, marriage and the family. As you

know, these realities are increasingly under

attack from powerful forces which threaten

to disfigure God’s plan for creation and

betray the very values which have inspired

and shaped all that is best in your culture.

Filipino culture has, in fact, been shaped

by the imagination of faith. Filipinos ev-erywhere are known for their love of God,

their fervent piety and their warm devotion

to Our Lady and her rosary. Their love of

God, their fervent piety and their warm

devotion to Our Lady and her rosary. This

great heritage contains a powerful mis-

sionary potential. It is the way in which

your people has inculturated the Gospel

and continues to embrace its message (cf.

Evangelii Gaudium, 122). In your efforts

to prepare for the fifth centenary, build on

this solid foundation.

Christ died for all so that, having died in

him, we might live no longer for ourselves

but for h im (cf. 2 Cor 5:15). Dear brother

bishops, priests and religious: I ask Mary,

Mother of the Church, to obtain for all

of you an outpouring of zeal, so that you

may spend yourselves in selfless service to

our brothers and sisters. In this way, may

the reconciling love of Christ penetrateever more fully into the fabric of Filipino

society and, through you, to the farthest

reaches of the world. Amen.

bat aa n F ou nda tio n, I w as ver y

surprised to see that there are

people really ready to help a nd

then I started to dream again.

I told myself that when I will

finish my study, I will be the

one helping street children like

me before.

I will be able also to help my

own family and the Tulay ng

Kabataan Foundation which

was the one helping m e to

continue my study.

I know today that I will be

able to continue my study be-

cause TNK is at my side, and

do not stop helping me and mycompanions from the street.

guidance makes us weak and vulnerable. It

eventually affects the way we handle infor-

mation and learning. We need to accept that

it is only by knowing God that we can have

true fulfillment.

I saw this saying once, “Values compro-

mise the things that are most important to

us. They are deep-seated pervasive standards

that influence almost every aspect of our

lives—from the books we read to our reli-

gious beliefs. Our values are at the core of

our personality. They influence the choices

we make, the people we trust, the appeals

we respond to and the way we invest ourtime and energy.” (American Management

Association)

To the Filipino students of today, a chal-

lenge is confronted before us. Let us see pass

these distractions. Let us fully utilize the gift

of education and have the values that honors

and glorifies our God Almighty. Thank you

and May God bless us all.

Questions to the Pope:

Holy Father, please allow me to ask you

these questions in behalf of all the young

people of the Philippines: in a world where

the youth is exposed to fast internet con-

nection, smart phones, unlimited texting,

instant romantic relationships and busy

lifestyles, how can we take time to stop,

reflect and listen to God’s will? And lastly,

Holy Father, what is true love? In this gen-

eration, the definition of true love seems to

lose its meaning. Most of us are engrossedwith what we see in the movies and social

media. How can we find true love in these

modern times?

Thank you so much!

Questions to the Pope by

Glyzelle Palomar

Dear Holy Father, I now want

to ask you these questions: there

are many children neglected by

their own parents. There are also

many who became victims and

many terrible things happened to

them like drugs or prostitution.

Why is God allowing such things

to happen, even if it is not the

fault of the children? And why

are there only very few people

helping us? (The girl broke into

tears and proceeded to hug theHoly Father)

be living examples of love, forgiveness and

care. Be sanctuaries of respect for life, pro-

claiming the sacredness of every human life

from conception to natural death. What a

gift this would be to society, if every Chris-

tian family lived fully its noble vocation!

So rise with Jesus and Mary, and set out on

the path the Lord traces for each of you.

Finally, the Gospel we have heard re-

minds us of our Christian duty to be prophetic voices in the midst of our communi-

ties. Joseph listened to the angel of the Lord

and responded to God’s call to care for Jesus

and Mary. In this way he played his part inGod’s plan, and became a blessing not only

for the Holy Family, but a blessing for all

of humanity. With Mary, Joseph served

as a model for the boy Jesus as he grew in

wisdom, age and grace (cf. Lk 2:52). When

families bring children into the world,

train them in faith and sound values, and

teach them to contribute to society, they

become a blessing in our world. A family

can become a blessing to the world. God’s

love becomes present and active by the way

of love and by the good works that we do.

We extend Christ’s kingdom in this world.

And in doing this, we prove faithful to the

prophetic mission which we have received

in baptism.

During this year which your bishops

have set aside as the Year of the Poor , Iwould ask you, as families, to be especially

mindful of our call to be missionary dis-

ciples of Jesus. This means being ready togo beyond your homes and to care for our

brothers and sisters who are most in need.

I ask you especially to show concern for

those who do not have a family of their

own, in particular those who are elderly

and children without parents. Never let

them feel isolated, alone and abandoned,

but help them to know that God has not

forgotten them.

[In Spanish]: I was very moved by theMass today, when I visited that thathome for children who had no parents.How many people in the Church workso that that house can become a home,a family! This is what it means to takeforward prophetically the mission of

the family.You may be poor yourselves in material

ways, but you have an abundance of gifts

to offer when you offer Christ and the com-

munity of his Church. Do not hide your

faith, do not hide Jesus, but carry him into

the world and offer the witness of your

family life!

Dear friends in Christ, know that I pray

for you always! I pray today for the families.

I do it! I pray that the Lord may continue to

deepen your love for him, and that this love

may manifest itself in your love for one

another and for the Church. Don’t forget

Jesus sleeping, don’t forget Joseph sleeping.

Jesus slept under the protection of Joseph.

Don’t forget to sleep is the prayer. Don’t

forget the prayer of the family.

Pray often and take the fruits of your

prayer into the world, that all may know

Jesus Christ a nd his mercifu l love. Please,

sleep also for me, pray also for me, for Itruly need your prayers and will depend

on them always!

Thank you very much!

important. He speaks powerfully

to all of us. He reminds us of our

deepest identity, of what we are

called to be as Gods family.

The Santo Niño also reminds

us that this identity must be

protected. The Christ Child is the

protector of this great country.

When he came into the world, his

very life was threatened by a cor-

rupt king. Jesus himself needed to

be protected. He had an earthly

protector: Saint Joseph. He had

an earthly family, the Holy Family

of Nazareth. So he reminds us ofthe importance of protecting our

families, and those larger families

which are the Church, Gods family,

and the world, our human family.

Sadly, in our day, the fa mily all too

often needs to be protected against

insidious attacks and programs

contrary to all that we hold true

and sacred, all that is most beauti-

ful and noble in our culture.

In the Gospel, Jesus welcomes

children, he embraces them and

blesses them (M k 10:16). We too

need to protect, guide and encour-

age our young people, helping

them to build a society worthy oftheir great spiritual and cultural

heritage. Specifically, we need to

see each child as a gift to be wel-

comed, cherished and protected.

And we need to care for our young

people, not allowing them to be

robbed of hope and condemned to

life on the streets.

It was a frail child, in need of

protection, who brought Gods

goodness, mercy and justice into

the world. He resisted the dishon-

esty and corruption which are the

legacy of sin, and he triumphed

over them by the power of his

cross. Now, at the end of my visitto the Philippines, I commend you

to him, to Jesus who came among

us as a child. May he enable all the

beloved people of this country to

work together, protecting one an-

other, beginning with your fami-

lies and communities, in building

a world of justice, integrity and

peace. May the Santo Niño con-

tinue to bless the Philippines and

to sustain the Christians of this

great nation in their vocation to

be witnesse s and missionari es of

the joy of the Gospel, in Asia and

in the whole world.

Please pray for me! God blessyou all!




Look for the image of the Holy Cross, Dove and Chalice.

(Illustration by Bladimer Usi)Buhay Parokya



Love and Faith / C3

The Cross A Supplement Publication of KCFAPI and the Order of the Knights of Columbus

CBCP Monitor. Vol. 19. No. 2 January 19 - February 1, 2015

Pope’s Visit rekindles ourfaith – K of C Philippines“We felt emotional as Pope Francis

was shown leaving the Nunciature

on his way to the Mall of Asia

Arena. I thought, finally the long

wait is about to end and meeting

him would soon be a reality. As his

entourage gets nearer the Arena, thefeeling of ecstasy reverberated both

inside and outside of the Arena. The

roar of the crowd gets louder and

louder and much louder everytime

his face is shown on the screen with

that infectious smile. A smile that

somehow eases whatever pain that

aches us, whatever problem that

stresses us and whatever it is that

worries us.”

AS shared by Brother Arsenio IsidroG. Yap, President of the Knights ofColumbus Fraternal Association ofthe Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) andat the same time, the incumbentLuzon Deputy of the Order of theKnights of Columbus in the Philip-pines, this was what he felt duringhis encounter with the Pope.

Yap tog eth er wit h his wif e at-tended the Pope’s “Meeting withFamilies” at the Mall of Asia Arenalast January 16. He added that thePope’s Visit gave them hope andstrengthened their faith a hundredif not a thousand fold.

“Let’s Hope and Pray that PopeFrancis’ visit will make us a nationthat is not only strong in faith butis also able to show ‘Mercy andCompassion’ to the least of our brethren,” Yap cited .

There were 15 slots given to theKnights of Columbus for the “Meet-ing with Families”.

The couple delegates were Broth-er Arsenio Isidro G. Yap and wife Ana Maria R. Yap; Alons o L. Tan,KCFAPI Chairman/Supreme Direc-tor and wife Teresita H. Tan; Raoul

A. Villa nueva, State Secretar y a nd wife Arac eli T. Villanuev a; and Ma.Theresa G. Curia, KCFAPI Executive Vice P resident and husband HarryR. Curia.

Other individual delegates were Joseph P. Teodoro, Sta te Treas urer; Justice Jose C. Reyes, Jr., State Adv o-cate; Pascual C. Carbero, State War-den; Bonifacio B. Martinez, StateMembership Director; Ramoncito A. Ocamp o, State Progra m Direc-tor; Vicente V. Ortega, State ChurchDirector; and Teodulo C. Sandoval,

District Deputy A-15.In his speech addressed to the

families, Pope Francis said: “Duringthis year which your bishops haveset aside as the Year of the Poor,I would ask you, as families, to beespecially mindful of our call to bemissionary disciples of Jesus. Thismeans being ready to go beyond you r hom es and to ca re for our brother s and sister s who are most

in need.”His Holiness asked every Filipino

Family to show concern for those who d o not have their own, in pa r-ticular those who are elderly andchildren without parents.

“Never let them feel isolated,alone and abandoned, but help themto know that God has not forgottenthem”, Pope Francis said.

KCFAPI joins the nation in wel-coming Pope Francis

Employees of the Knights of Co-lumbus Fraternal Association of thePhilippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) waitedfor the coming of Pope Francis with much anticipati on as early asNovember of last year when the As-sociation first welcomed the mediaand information committee to itsFr. George J. Willmann, SJ Memorial

Building to serve as the Media andInformation General Headquartersfor the Papal Visit.

Hence, as expected, KCFAPI em-ployees along with their familiesmarched to the different locationsincluded in the Pope’s itinerary totake part in this momentous event.

“It [encounter with the Pope] wasso magical. I cannot explain the feel-ing I had when I saw the Pope,” said

KCFAPI Executive Vice PresidentMa. Theresa G. Curia.

Curia, who is also the Daugh-ters of Mary Immaculate (DMI)Diocesan Regent cited the value ofCharity as one of the learning sheobtained from the Pope’s message,“The act of giving changes yourlife. You feel helping yourself when you give”.

Congratulations Ms.Carmelita “Bong” Ruiz! KCFAPI Underwriting Manager,Ms. Carmelita S. Ruiz was elected asthe new President of the Home Of-fice Life Underwriters’ Associationof the Philippines (HOLUAP) for the year 2015 during their recently heldGeneral Assembly in Makati City.

The said organization is com-posed of field underwriters from var ious compa nies in the Phil ip-pines and is directed in the develop-ment and promotion of sound un-derwriting principles and concepts

through ed-u c a t i o n a lcampaigns,t r ai n i n g s ,s e m i n ar s , workshops ,c o n f e r -ences andlectures inaccordance with applicable laws andethical norms.

Congratulations Ms. Bong! Weare so proud of you! (KC News)

Hall of Fame Awardee,Dr. Ruperto Somera!THE Philippine Institute of Certified Public Ac-countants’ (PICPA) National Board of Directors

awarded DR. RUPERTO P. SOMERA the prestigious ACCOUNTANCY HALL OF FAME AWARD duringthe 69th PICPA Annual National Convention heldlast November 27, 2014 at the Waterfront Hotel,Cebu City.

KCFAPI, Knights of Columbus hold EucharisticAdoration for papal visitTHE Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc.(KCFAPI) together with the Orderof the Knights of Columbus held aEucharistic Adoration novena exactlynine days before the Pope’s arrival tothe Philippines.

The Eucharistic Adoration Novena was held from Jan. 7 to 15, 2015, from8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ Memorial Bldg. chapellocated inside the KCFAPI Center inIntramuros, Manila, where the Media

and Information Headquarters of thepapal visit can also be found.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference ofthe Philippines Media Office directorand Papal Visit Accreditation and Me-dia Sub-Committee head, Msgr. PedroQuitorio III who also happens to beKCFAPI’s spiritual director initiatedthe said activity.

Successful papal visitHe explained that the purpose of

the novena, which is sponsored bythe Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc.

(KCFAPI), is to pray for the success of

Pope Francis Brings Message of Love and Faith At the concluding Mass of his five-day trip to

the Philippines, before a crowd of some 6 millionparticipants, Pope Francis said, “All of us are God’schildren, members of God’s family.” He urgedFilipinos to build a just society at home and serveas missionaries of love and peace throughout Asia.

Despite the hardships of poverty and socialexclusion being suffered by many, the Philippinepeople are blessed by their faith, the pope said in hishomily at the Mass offered in Manila’s Rizal Parkon Sunday, Jan. 18. Under a light but steady rain,the faithful packed shoulder to shoulder into thepark and spread out along surrounding streets asfar as the eye could see.

The Mass was the final public event of PopeFrancis’ first trip to the Philippines, which includedmeetings with the clergy, religious, government of-ficials, diplomats, families and youth. He also madea trip to Tacloban City in the central portion of thecountry, which is still recovering from the effectsof a devastating typhoon that hit the province inNovember 2013.

With more tha n 332, 000 membe rs in the

Awardee / C3

Rekindles / C3

Adoration / C3 Various organizations and individuals attended the Eucharistic Adoration novenaconducted by the KCFAPI and K of C in preparation for the Papal Visit. Yen Ocampo

This is PICPA’s highest award given to a CPA who has devoted in a signifi-cant and outstanding manner a major part of his life to the promotion andadvancement of the accountancy profession in the Philippines.

The following are the most significant factors considered for granting Dr.Somera the said prestigious award:

- He has always been actively involved in PICPA events either as Chair ofa committee, lecturer or participant. He is also an author of books, researchpapers and modules.

- For 41 years now, he has conducted lectures for PICPA chapters, ACPAE, ACPACI and ACPAPP for which he constantly earned “Excellent” r atings.

- He continues to be a very active member of GARCA for so many yearsnow and never failed to participate in the evaluation of reports of chapters,regions and GAOs to check on their respective compliance and achievements.

- He served many times as Director for Education in the PICPA NationalBoard, a position requested of him by the education sector as he is stronglyconsidered as a staunch supporter and defender of the accounting educators.

- He is an internationally renowned tax practitioner, advisor, and fellow



C2 The Cross January 19 - February 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 2

Alonso L. Tan

Chairman’s Message

President’s Message

Roberto T. Cruz

Ma. Theresa G. Curia

Arsenio Isidro G. Yap

A More Significant 2015

Michael P. Cabra

Today I Begin

Enjoy life more this 2015!

New Year Message

First of all, I would like to greet everyone aHappy, Prosperous and Productive New Yearthis 2015. Once again, the year has started andmost of us are preoccupied with our New Year’sResolutions that we all hope will usher in a new beginning for an improved and much better lifefor each of us.

With this common tradition, one is expectedto list down his or her ambitious goals/ promises

to be achieved during the next twelve months. We can all easily declare to o ne an other ourrespective New Year resolutions, but the crucial point here is if we will be able toseriously accomplish and maintain these personal goals or promises during the whole year. To answer this, we have to honestly evaluate the level of disciplineand commitment that we will personally demand from ourselves.

How many percent of those who proudly declared their New Year’s Resolu-tions at the start of January actually remember to evaluate themselves in thesecond half of the year to honestly check if they indeed accomplished theirpersonal targets?

Of course, we must admire those who are so disciplined and committed thatthey are able to fulfill their resolutions even long before the year ends. The keyto success for them are their wholehearted commitment and non-negotiablediscipline and resolve to reach their goals.

For 2015, KCFAPI’s Corporate Theme is: KCFAPI Cares!! It is the Association’sresolve for this Year of the Poor that KCFAPI will help, not only its BrotherKnights of Columbus and their families, but extend its service and assistanceespecially to those who are in dire need - regardless if they are part of the K ofC Order or not.

Let us all help KCFAPI transcend its normal operational boundaries to reachout to our underprivileged countrymen and neighbors. This is the New Year’s

resolution of our Association for 2015. Let us therefore help one anothermaintain and preserve a high level of discipline and commitment to pursue andcomplete whatever various projects will be lined up. We also need to be aware ofhow each of us can contribute towards attaining our corporate goal of showinghow KCFAPI cares. Once awareness is established, we can then help and guideeach other in fulfilling our respective roles.

Let us therefore remember that 2015 consists of twelve full months and wemust ensure that we remain persistent and faithful until the very end of Decem- ber 2015 to the goals we set this New Year.

Finally, the Knights of Columbus and the KCFAPI group of companies warmly welcome His Holiness, Pope Francis in His Papal Visit to our countryfrom January 15 – 19, 2015. We are truly inspired by His Holy Presence and His wholehearted mercy, compassion and love for the poor. We are all very gratefulthat we will experience seeing and being with Pope Francis in the various activi-ties that He will grace during his four-day papal visit.

Vivat Jesus!

IT was 20 years ago during the last visit of a Pope tothe Philippines. It was Pope John Paul II who vi sitedus then and made history when he attracted morethan five million at a mass he celebrated at Lunetaon January 15, 1995 during the World Youth DayCelebration. I was then part of a four-man team thatserved as part of the water brigade of the Knightsof Columbus-Luzon. We were tasked by then LuzonDeputy Dr. Alfredo V. Silva to take care of the waterdistribution, one of several committees that servedfor Pope John Paul II’s visit.

Our Chairman then was Paeng Tan of Bulacan; Logistical support washandled by Jack Joaquin also from Bulacan, the incumbent Assistant to theLuzon Deputy; Carling Rances of Quezon City handled Finance and was di-rectly in-charge and responsible in the solicitation of One Million Pesos forthe purchase of purified water for the Luneta attendees; and I, who was noteven a State Officer was in-charge of the Volunteers in the water distribution.I was also the Liaison Officer at that time who would coordinate our activities with government agencies handling the Pope’s Visit.

We were so successful and so coordinated that we became like friends for a

lifetime. Sad to note Carling is no longer around while Paeng Tan is no longera knight nor a Catholic. But Jack and I are still around still enjoying workingtogether for the good of the Order.

It was not my first encounter though with a pope visiting the Philippines.Pope Paul VI was the first pope to visit the Philippines and my chance en-counter with him was at the grounds of the University of Santo Tomas (UST)in 1970 when I was in my third year high school. His entourage was cruisingalong Quezon Drive from the España Gate and the crowd was not that heavythen. I was so mesmerized when his gaze wandered in my direction. That’s why I felt I was the onl y person around when he gazed at me and i mpartedhis blessings. The feeling was of absolute ecstasy. His deep set eyes seemto penetrate into my very soul. I cannot explain the feeling nor can I fullycomprehend what happened to me. I felt so blessed. I felt so lucky. It was a wonderful overwhelming feeling.

I was not fortunate enough to see Pope John Paul II whether by choice or by ch ance during his fi rst vi sit to the Phil ippines i n 1981. I could not evenremember why I failed to do so.

I was given a second chance to see Pope John Paul II during the 15th World Youth Day held in Rome in August of 2000. The pilgrimage I joined was orga-nized by LAIKO wherein we had about 500 delegates, the biggest delegationfrom the Philippines.

The third Pope I was fortunate to see was Pope Francis. I was a part of the 15official delegates of the Knights of Columbus Luzon Jurisdiction fortunateenough to be at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena for the Encounter with theFamilies. Eight of us were seated directly at the entrance gate of the MOA Arena where Pope Francis entered at around 5: 30 PM of January 16, 2015 tomeet with the families. The Arena has a capacity of about 20,000. Sad to say20,000 or more people were seated in the open parking space beside the arenaunder the heat of the sun and under the threat of rain. Patiently they waitedfor the Pope’s arrival.

Most of the delegates at the Arena and at the parking space started to arriveas early as 6 in the morning. Our delegation left the assembly place at around9 am and arrived at the Arena an hour later. At that time, the gates won’t beopened until 11 but the queue started to get longer. There were around 200people ahead of us or so we thought. When the gates were opened a nd our linesstarted to move, we realized that we were at around 5,000th in line as the queue was snaking around the grounds a djacent to the gate of the Arena.

We felt emotion al a s Pope F ranci s was leavi ng the Nunciat ure as shownon live video, that finally the long wait is about to end and meeting him would s oon be a reali ty. As hi s entoura ge gets n earer th e Arena, the feel ingof ecstasy reverberated both inside and outside of the Arena. The roar ofthe crowd gets louder and louder and much louder everytime his face is

shown on screen with that infectious smile. A smile that somehow eases whatever pain th at aches us, whatever pr oblem that stress es us and whateverit is that worries us.

There were three families who shared their story to Pope Francis and tothose in attendance. The first one was the Dizon Family who talked aboutpoverty, how difficult life was for them but still had the time to serve theirchurch because of their strong faith in the Lord. The second was the Puma-radas Family whose breadwinner had to leave the Philippines to seek greenerpasture and earn enough for his family. Prayers were their weapon to helpthem survive the many problems and difficulties that are usually beingencountered by migrant families. Third was the Cruz Family who sharedtheir very difficult situation as both husband and wife are deaf mutes. Thefather told his story in sign language which was interpreted by one of thedaughters. All their children were born without hearing impairment. They’re very thankful that the L ord ha s pul led them th rough such a very d ifficultsituation to raise a family.

One gets emotional as each family unfold their life stories. One cannot help but realize how difficult life must be for the three families. The feeling of em-pathy was in the air and many had shed a tear or two as their stories were told.

The Pope’s Visit gave us Hope and strengthened our faith a hundred if not athousand fold. Let’s Hope and Pray that Pope Francis’ visit will make us a nation

that is not only strong in faith but is also able to show “Mercy and Compassion”to the least of our brethren.

Curia Settings

THE New Year is a beautiful symbol. It is a symbolthat if we enter into it, it becomes true to us andfor us. As a symbol, it tells us something and evenleads us to do or become what it tells us.

It symbolizes newness. Because it is new, itsignals the end of the old. We accept that we haveto leave behind something of the past and moveon to something different. Its newness brings infresh air, fresh ideas, fresh spirit. But it requiresa readiness to leave behind, end, cut clean fromold ways to give in to new approaches, attitudes,dreams.

It speaks of beginnings. It demands political will to start something different. We cannot es-cape from the shadows of the past if we cling to old ways of doing things; if we are lazy to start anew.

Why do many people light firecrackers andrejoice at the blinding light and deafening soundof New Year? They say these frighten the evilspirits that lurk over us. They stop the monstersand dark energies from entering our lives andour surroundings.

However, more powerful than the firecrack-ers are our resolve to put an end to bad habits, vices, addic tions – be they things, substances or

relationships that poison our lives. What drivesthe evil spirits away from our own spirit is ourdecision to change. But the real champion againstevil in our lives, is Grace, the Indwelling of theSpirit in our lives.

So perhaps the New Year should invite us to be more present to the God who is within us. The

Emmanuel whose birth we just celebrated neverleaves us. But we are the ones who forget that weare in his holy presence.

As soon as we learn to live in the shadows of the

Holy Spirit hovering over us, how can we be slavesto the toxic, the negative energies, the crooked vision? If God is with us, who can be against us? We know this truth, yet it takes us a l ong time toconform to it.

Every New Year signals to us the possibil-ity of wanting to start anew on the right track.St. Augustine taught us the prayer: “Now I begin. “

Year after year, we like to live in the presenceof God so that we do not make many mistakes.But we progress very slightly as the years go by.However, we console ourselves by saying that we will not get tired, even if we see that we get betteronly little by little.

How do we know that there is progress nomatter how slight it may be? When we becomeconscious that only God is the Only Absolute inour life. When at night before we fall asleep weremember whom we have hurt, whom we ignored, whom w e have taken for granted. And then we whisper “I’m Sorry”.

We know the Spi rit of God c omes as we fi ndhope and new strength to go on, even if our work,projects, our relationships pass through darkmoments and bottle necks. W hen we do not gettotally discouraged; when we do not get despon-dent nor depressive moods despite the setbacksand contradictions, despite the conflicts and

seemingly endless woes and failures..If we can trust that tomorrow will be better

than yesterday and today, then perhaps this Hopeis from Above. Then perhaps this is the meaning

of Emmanuel... God is with us. And everyday wecan trustingly say: “Today I begin”.

We thank the Lord Almighty for a successful2014. Once again, KCFAPI is able to deliver andeven surpass its targets. It is on its 57th year ofsuccessful operations and we are counting on its60th birthday in 2018.

KCFAPI begins 2015 with the Theme: KCFAPICares. The Church’s declaration of the Year ofthe Poor in 2015 and the inspiration from PopeFrancis are big driving forces for KCFAPI’s choiceof this theme. This highlights its thrust towardshelping also the poor, to sacrifice and live a simplelife, to experience real change spiritually, andin the course to practice humility. What setsKCFAPI apart from others in terms of helpingthe poor is its Spiritual or Religious desire tohelp. Our conviction is to be able to extend helpin its entirety, beyond the physical state of anindividual. We pray that the Lord continue toshower us with the Graces that we need to be able

to deliver the best for His Glory. (The author,Sis. Ma. Theresa G. Curia is the Executive VicePresident & COO of the Knights of ColumbusFraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc.(KCFAPI) and is also the Diocesan Regent of theDaughters of Mary Immaculate International(DMII) – Diocese of Malolos.)

My Brother’s Keeper

NOW that the New Year parties andcelebrations are finished let’s takea look at the following commonresolutions:• Spend more time with friends

and family• Improve fitness• Lose weight• Quit smoking• Enjoy life moreLet’s tackle the last resolution -

‘enjoy life more’. Perhaps you mightenjoy life, just a little more, knowingthat your loved ones would be takencared of, financially, no matter whathappens. With this in mind andknowing that this time of the year ispopular for people getting an addi-tional insurance protection, here arethe top ten tips and points so you caneasily avail of an insurance policy, tohelp you achieve your resolution. We,at KCFAPI, insurance policy is termedas Benefit Certificate (BC).

Top 10 tips in availing a BenefitCertificate (BC) with KCFAPI

• Who should get a BC?Every Brother Knight and his

family members with human eco-nomic value should have a BC. If you v alue life but you do not h avean insurance coverage, well thinkagain. Does anyone rely on youfor financial support? If so, lifeinsurance will help to protect theirfinancial well being. Do you havea mortgage, car loan or any otheroutstanding debts? If so, a benefitcertificate can provide a way totake care of these outstanding bills,

along with others like medical ex-penses, funeral expenses, legal feesand taxes. Do you own a business?If so, you are liable for the debts your b usiness owes. Your persona lassets could be liquidated to paythese debts, which could leave littlefor your family. Do you want toleave money to an institution? Youcan use benefit certificate to leavemoney to your favourite charity.

•Who would you like to insure?If you are single, you can get a BC

for your own life and for the life of your parents. If you are married, youcan get a BC for yourself, your spouseand your children.

•What would you like your Ben-efit Certificate to achieve?

Some of the things a BC cantake care of include: pay funeralexpenses, pay outstanding balanceson your mortgage and other debts,offset the loss of your income for aperiod of time, and/or contributeto the future education of yourchildren.

•How much BC do you need? Well, that will depend on what

you would like your BC to accom-plish. As a result, there is no one-size fits all answer. However, yourfriendly Fraternal Counselor canhelp. He will help you estimate howmuch life insurance you’ll need tohave in order to ensure that yourfamily, loved ones and your debtsare looked after in the event of youruntimely demise.

•How long will you need a BCfor?

Again, this is often determined by what you woul d like your BCto achieve. You can estimate thetiming of your BC needs by asking yourself questions like: When will mymortgage be paid off, when will mychildren finish school, and when will Iretire? Again, your friendly FraternalCounselor (FC) can offer guidance.

•What type of BC plan do youneed?

There are two kinds of life insur-ance: term and permanent. Termlife insurance offers protection fora set period of time, usually 10 to 20 years; while permanent insuranc eprovides a lifetime of protection.Term insurance is more affordablethan permanent insurance, offering you an opportu nity to get a large

amount of coverage at a lower cost.Permanent life insurance on theother hand is more expensive thanterm, as it offers lifetime coveragealong with possible savings andmaturity options.

•What medical information willyou need to provide to obtainyour BC?

Typically, the more medical in-formation you provide, the betterthe price. A BC that asks few or nomedical questions will likely befar more expensive than a BC thatasks for your medical information.Plus, depending on your age and theamount of coverage you want, youcould be asked to provide blood or

urine samples. For these, KCFAPI willnot charge you any cost.

•What are the renewal optionsand requirements of the BC?

Council Mortuary Benefit Plan(CMBP) is one good example of agroup term plan. It is renewableuntil you reach the age of 75. If yourcouncil failed to renew it on time, youlose certain significant benefit. For2015, all CMBP Contracts should berenewed on or before January 31 only.Check with your council officers if you have renewed your CMBP con-tract already.

•What are the conversion op-tions and restrictions of the BC?

As your life changes , when youreach 75, you may want to convert your CMBP from term to perma-nent. When you purchase your BC,find out if there are any limitationsfor conversion, like age or into whattype of permanent policy you canconvert to - the fewer limitations the better. Still, getting an additional BCis highly recommended.

•What will the cost be? Well that depends on the individ-

ual. The best way to get the cheapestrate is to get it at an early age. If youare charged with a high contributionrate due to poor health or old age, get-ting a BC for your children is the next best option. I am sure, they will make your life more enjoyable anyway.

Here’s to an enjoyable life to youand your loved ones in 2015. Vivat Jesus!

Touching Base with the Foundations

A HAPPY and Prospe rous New Year to every-one!!!

2015 has been dubbed by the Catholic Churchas the Year of the Poor and our two KC Founda-tions have resolved to adopt a more proactiveapproach for the coming year. Actually, KCFA-PI, our Foundations’ parent entity initiated thisprocess when it formulated its 2015 corporatetheme, KCFAPI CARES in support of the Year ofthe Poor. As part of its implementation of this

theme, the KCFAPI Board allowed more flex-ibility and leeway for the two Foundations, boththe KC Philippines Foundation, Inc. and theKnights of Columbus Fr. George J. WillmannCharities, Inc. by approving last December2014 the “lifting” of the prescribed “restric-tion” on 50% of its 2015 donations to bothFoundations. Traditionally, KCFAPI donationscannot be spent and only its earnings together with divid ends are earmar ked for schol arshi pgrants to Priests and Seminarians as well as toCollegiate students.

With th is devel opment, the Executive Com-mittees of both KCPFI and KCFGJWCI approveda joint Plans and Programs for 2015 for theirrespective Foundations that will utilize theKCFAPI-approved “Lifting of Restrictions” toimplement various projects in support of the“Year of the Poor”.

This January 2015, one such project, the Kof C BAHAYNIHAN (A Fr. Willmann Housing

Project) is nearing completion by month-end whe re KC Phi li ppi nes Foun dat ion , Inc . wil l

award sturdy, typhoon-resistant BAHAYNI-HAN houses made of bricks and cement inTacloban, Leyte to six (6) certified Yolanda vic tims all of whos e hous es were tot all y de-stroyed. A joint endeavor among KCPFI, the ben efi cia rie s and Leg o Bui lde rs, Inc . (LB I),KCPFI provides 83% of total capital funding foreach BAHAYNIHAN house while the beneficia-ries will be responsible for the remaining 17%as their equity contribution. Lego Build ers, on

the other hand, provides all the materials andlabor at a subsidized amount for each 20sqm.BAHAYNIHAN house. The Project was also tar-geted to be a visible evidence during the Papal visit of the K of C, KCFAPI and KCPFI’s com-mon commitment to help calamity victims inLeyte. Unfortunately, construction timetables were ad versel y aff ected by typh oons R uby an dSeniang, an unprogrammed Yuletide break andmost recently, typhoon Amang.

Wit h the Foun dat ion s’ mor e det ermi nedapproach to be an effective implementing armfor the projects for the poor, KCFAPI officersand possibly even retirees and BC holders willhave more formal roles in the operations of theFoundations that will allow decentralization andmore focus to be given for the implementationof various projects during the year.

To ensure available funding for projects forthe poor, different fund-raising activities havealready been lined up for the whole 2015. These

include: a Charity Cruise by the Bay; a Char-ity Birthday Ball in honor of Luzon Deputy

and KCFAPI President Arsenio Isidro G. Yap;Bingo Socials; a Tax Seminar, a Fun Run and aFr. Willmann Charity Dinner and solicitationof year-round donations for the use of KCFAPIfacilities.

Scholarship grants, however, will still remainas the main thrust of both Foundations. To aug-ment existing funds for scholarships, key K of Cpersonalities will be approached to sponsor five(5) Professorial Chair grants. At the same time,

the continuous search for new Fr. WillmannFellows will be pursued for which an updatedscheme for Fellows will be formulated.

2015 promises to be an exciting and ambi-tious year for our Foundations as well as the whole KCFAPI group of compani es in pursuitof the theme: KCFAPI CARES during this Yearof the Poor. Let us all join hands to welcome thesocially-relevant challenges we have set for this year. To this end, we can all give our own personalcontributions, whether these are in the form ofmonetary donations, our individual time andphysical effort coupled with sincere prayers forthe success of each well-intentioned project.

Let us all help make our Foundations moremeaningful and relevant especially to our poor bro ther s. We all hav e been ble sse d wit h therecently-concluded papal visit of our belovedPope Francis! Let us heed his call for Mercy andCompassion by helping and participating in thenoble activities and projects of the Foundations!

Please make 2015 a truly significant year for allof us! Ha ppy New Year!



C3The Cross January 19 - February 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 2

Great Expectations As we look to the New Year and beyond, we recall Father McGivney’s vision for the Knights of Columbus

By SK Carl A. Anderson

Te Gentle Warrior By James B. Reuter, SJ

Part XV of Chapter One of “The Gentle Warrior” series

CHAPTER ONE: Training

DURING his 2008 visit to the UnitedStates, Pope Benedict XVI spoke ofthe missionary spirit of Catholics in19th-century America who have, hesaid, “left us a lasting legacy of faithand good works.” In his homily atNew York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral,he singled out Venerable MichaelMcGivney as an “exemplary” priest who se lif e emb odi ed the “un ityof vision and purpose” and “self-sacrifice” that led to the “impressivegrowth” of Catholicism in North America.

Last August, in his message to ourSupreme Convention, Pope Francissimilarly recalled, “In the complexsocial and ecclesial situation of late19th-century America,” the vocationof the laity “found particular expres-sion in principles of faith, fraternityand service that guided the establish-ment of the Knights of Columbus”and “the fraternal spirit inculcated by Father Michael McGivney.”

Given the extraordinary situationof the Catholic community today, itis easy to forget the hardships thatCatholics faced in Father McGivney’sday. In his world, Catholics weremostly an immigrant population,often the victims of violence and bigotry, and general ly offered thelowest paying and most dangerous jobs. Men, women and children wereall expected to work — often in facto-ries, as did young Michael McGivney.There was no “social safety net,” andeducational opportunities were few.

In founding the Knights of Co-lumbus, Father McGivney soughtto respond in both a temporal andspiritual way to this crisis affectingCatholic family life. This was not anabstract crisis; it was one that he hadexperienced firsthand.

As a child, McGivney saw six ofhis 12 siblings die as young children.Later, the death of his father causedhim to suspend seminary studies fora time. His two brothers followedhis example and entered seminary,

and as a young priest, he witnessedthe challenges that his mother con-fronted as a single parent who ha d toraise a family by herself.

As an associate pastor at St. Mary’sChurch in New Haven, Conn., FatherMcGivney daily confronted theproblems affecting the families ofhis parish arising from poverty, violence, substance abuse, prejudice,discrimination and unemployment.

With creative genius and determi-nation, he responded to this situation with a variety of pastoral initiatives.He developed practical programs toreach out to youth, raised funds toassist widows and orphans, and spentmany hours in prison ministry.

In addition, he also found time toengage in a respectful but effectiveecumenical dialogue with Protes-tants — efforts that led to at leastone very publicized conversion toCatholicism.

Of course, he also respondedto this situation by empoweringgenerations of Catholic laymen to

support the practical Catholic life oftheir families and parishes by found-ing the Knights of Columbus.

As Pope Francis reminded us, “Thefidelity of the Knights to these highideals” of Father McGivney, and to what we might say is his way of liv-ing the Christian life, has “ensuredthe continued vitality of [the] Order.”

This fidelity, the pope added, “hasalso contributed, and continues tocontribute, to the mission of theChurch at every level and, in par-ticular, to the universal ministry ofthe Apostolic See.” And for this thepope said he is “profoundly grateful.”

As we beg in the New Year, welook forward to 2015 with greatexpectations. Already we have beenpreparing for the upcoming WorldMeeting of Families in Philadelphia,not only with financial and volun-teer support, but also with our newprogram, “Building the DomesticChurch: The Family Fully Alive” (seepage 14). Throughout 2015 and intothe future, we will reach out in a very

practical way to our own familiesand to those among our councils,parishes and dioceses.

Finally, we will be in Philadelphiato welcome Pope Francis to Americanext September, and we will do all

we can to adva nce his messa ge of joy, reconciliation and hope so thatthe Holy Father may continue to begrateful for the work of the Knightsof Columbus.

Vivat Jesus!

WILLIAM Willmann was terribl y up set by thedeath of his wife. But he married again, later. Thegirl named in George’s letter “Elsie” was the woman

he married. The six children did not approve of this wedding. Dorothy, years later, expressed regret fortheir “lack of charity” to their father.

Ed and George became very close, later. Ed wassickly, and died in 1965.

The four years of Novitiate were beautiful inmany ways, but stormy and painful. There werestorms and pain in the soul of George Willmann.

But that is how a warrior is trained for battle. Helearns how to live in the rain.

4. Woodstock, MarylandGeorge Willmann travelled by train from

Saint Andrew’s on the Hudson, in Poughkeepsie,to Woodstock College in Woodstock, Maryland.

There he studied philosophy, for three years, fromSeptember of 1919 until June of 1922.

The place was beautiful. Solemn brick buildings with tal l grey towers. Acres and acres of rollingground – a nine hole golf course; a little forest which was kept clean and attractive by the young JesuitScholastics who cut down the trees and cleaned outthe underbrush and cut the grass and trimmed the bushes; a quarry which had a deep area filled with water, for swimming in the summertime; a milepath running around the cluster of main buildings.It was quiet and peaceful, conducive to study, anideal place for prayer.

It was the largest religious house in the world,sheltering three hundred Jesuits, engaged in seven years of study. It was clearly divided into two – thephilosophate, which was the last two years of collegeand another year for a possible Master of Arts; and thetheologate, which was the four years of study imme-diately preceding the priesthood. The Jesuit philoso-phers, like George, were generally between the ages of

twenty two and twenty five. Philosophy was followed by regency – three years of teaching. The Scholastics who came back to Woodstock were normally betweenthe ages of twenty eight and thirty-two.

Because the buildings were filled with youngmen, who were vigorous and energetic and in love with life, the mood of Woodstock was joyous. Afterlunch each day the men poured out of the house toplay basketball, or handball, or tennis. They would walk across the golf course to get to the quarry, for

swimming. They went into the woods with longsaws and axes, to cut down trees. They ran aroundthe mile path. And in the kitchen they mopped thefloors, and washed the dishes, and then set the tables

in the great dining room for the next meal. Thehouse overflowed with the energy of youth. Thepaths and the playgrounds were filled with laughter.The young men felt that life was good, that life was beautiful, that serving God was an adventure.

Their principal occupation was study. And theytook this seriously. George was grateful for theclasses in Logic. The course appealed to his orderlyGerman mind. He was fascinated with Cosmology– the study of the universe – and with psychology,the study of the human spirit, the human soul.Study was not hard labor; it was not distasteful; it was a joy. George went to his books, at study time,eagerly. He felt that studying philosophy was a greatopportunity, a wonderful chance to learn. Naturaltheology appealed to him – the study of God. It wasall so reasonable!

The Jesuit Scholastics laughed a lot, and – becausethey were young men – they laughed most of allthemselves. When a nun asked one theologian:“What are you doing at Woodstock?” He answered:

“Four years”. In colloquial American language, thatis how a jailbird would describe his prison term: “Iam doing four years.”

Another Sister, very emotional, said to Father Walter Hogan when he wa s l eaving Woodstock:“You will miss Woodstock!” Walter Hogan, who was a good friend of George Willmann, answered:“Not if I take good aim, I won’t!”

(To be continued on the next issue.)

Lay org appeals for all to be true agents of Mercy and CompassionTHE Knights of Columbus in the Phil-ippines, the largest Catholic fraternalservice organization in the countryis calling out all brother knights andother lay organizations to help ingathering donations for the victimsof Typhoon Ruby.

“We would like to appeal to youour brother knights in the 260 Dis-tricts and more than 1,200 Knightsof Columbus Councils in Luzon toplease send your donations of atleast P500.00 to help the victims ofTyphoon Ruby in the Diocese of Bo-rongan, Eastern Samar,” said ArsenioIsidro G. Yap, Luzon Deputy, Knightsof Columbus in the Philippines.

He stated that the K of C Philip-pines has immediately dispatched300 sacks of rice to the victims of ty-phoon Ruby in Borongan through KCPhilippines Foundation, Inc. (KCPFI).

Yap, who is a lso th e President of

the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of t he Ph ilippines, Inc(KCFAPI), the insurance arm of theK of C Philippines added that theprovince of Borongan was also one ofthe beneficiaries of the K of C Luzon Jurisdiction during last year’s efforts

to help victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda.Thru KCFAPI’s foundation, the

Knights of Columbus in the Phil-ippines, provided support to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda by do-nating cash, relief goods and powerchainsaws that helped convert fallencoconut trees into usable coco lumberused for building temporary sheltersfor the typhoon victims. Along withthese, motorized wooden boats forthe livelihood of the fishermen werealso supplied while hollow-blockmaking machines both powered andmanually operated will be provided

this month of January to help in thereconstruction efforts in the Dioceseof Borongan, Eastern Samar.

This only goes to show that Knightsof Columbus’ goal is not only to beable to distribute relief goods butmore importantly, to provide liveli-

hood programs for the typhoon vic-tims and to help in the rehabilitationof damaged houses and churches intheir area.” Yap cited.

“With the recent onslaught of Ty-phoon Ruby, let us exercise our Virtueof Charity and continue to help ourfellow Filipinos in Borongan. I there-fore enjoin everyone, including nonKC members to help in the fund drive we are organizing. This is one of the ways we can best exemplify the themeof the papal visit. Let us be true agentsof Mercy and Compassion.” Yap cited.

Donations can be sent thru thefollowing bank accounts: BDO Salas

Roxas Blvd. Branch Current Acct. # 0051 2800 4143 Acco unt Name:Knights of Columbus Luzon Jurisdic-tion or at Land Bank Aduana BranchCurrent Acct. # 0012107188 AccountName: Knights of Columbus Luzon Jurisdiction.

Still in line with its Calamity-assis-tance project, the Knights of Colum- bus Philippines Foundation, Inc. hasrecently launched its housing project,‘K of C Bahaynihan’ (A Fr. WillmannHousing Project). This aims to provideassistance to selected Yolanda victimsresiding in a heavily-devastated barangay in Leyte by providing the bulk of funds for the construction ofnew permanent brick houses in placeof their destroyed residences.

The project also serves as a visibleevidence of K of C’s involvement inthe rehabilitation efforts for calamity victims. (KC News)

the papal visit.Msgr. Quitorio, hopes that Catho-

lics, who were not able to come to the Willmann chapel, likewise offeredtheir prayers before the Blessed Sac-rament in their own parishes for thisparticular intention.

“Let us storm the heavens with ourprayers. We have a friend in Jesus. Letus talk to Him in the Blessed Sacra-ment,” he said.

The Fr. Willmann Chapel of theKnights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. was mad e avail able for Euchari stic Adorers from January 7 to 15, 2015.

‘Strong right arm of the Church’

Knights of Columbus LuzonDeputy and KCFAPI President Ar-senio Isidro Yap said the Knights didnot have any second thoughts about

sponsoring the event, especiallysince supporting the needs of theChurch is the primary mission ofthe Knights.

“The Knights of Columbus has been called the strong right arm ofthe Church by St. John Paul II specifi-cally when the Church, especially theHoly Father and the clergy, calls forour help, be it spiritual or material,the Knights always respond posi-tively and swiftly,” he said.

Yap earli er call ed on the 1,200Councils of the Knights in Luzonto conduct their own novena ofEucharistic Adoration in their ownparishes.

The chapel and building is dedicat-

ed to the memory of Fr. George J. Will-mann SJ, the father of the Knights ofColumbus in the Philippines. (Rom-

mel Lopez / CBCPNews)

Philippines, Knights of Columbus participated inall public events during the Holy Father’s visit to

the country, whose population is 86% Catholic.The pope’s message of love and hope, and his in-sistence that believers should live out their faithin practical acts of charity, held special meaningfor the Knights. Throughout the Philippines, theOrder of the Knights of Columbus is engaged incharitable programs that meet the needs of thepoor and neglected, and offer an image of God’slove for all people.

During the pope’s trip to Tacloban City last Jan. 17, the Knights highlighted their LivelihoodProject, which is being supported by grants fromthe Supreme Council. With permission from Archb ishop John Du of Palo, three motori zed boats, with the Knights of Columbu s emblem, were pla ced on the grou nds of the new PopeFrancis Center for the Holy Father’s visit to thefacility. The boats which were constructed bylocal builders underlined the charitable reach ofthe Livelihood Project. A total of 200 boats wereprovided to fishermen who lost their vessels due

to Typhoon Haiyan. Also, in honor of the pope’s visit to the Philip-

pines, the Supreme Council recently announced adonation of $200,000 to the Archdiocese of Palo

for rebuilding St. John the Evangelist School ofTheology, the major seminary that was destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan.

The closing Mass in Manila was celebrated onthe feast of Santo Niño – the Holy Child Jesus – adevotion which has a deep roots in the Filipinolife and culture. Many in the crowd held statues ofthe Santo Niño image, and the Gospel read at theMass related the words of Jesus that his followersmust accept the kingdom of God with a child’shumble spirit.

Pope Francis called the Philippines “the foremostCatholic country in Asia,” pointing out that “this isitself a special gift of God, a special blessing. But it isalso a vocation. Filipinos are call ed to be outstand-ing missionaries of the faith in Asia.”

The country is blessed with youth, he said, andhe urged Filipinos to keep alive their strong familyspirit by welcoming children with love, concern andcare for their welfare.

His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle,

Archbishop of Manila and a member of the Knightsof Columbus since his youth as a Columbian Squire,

offered a final tribute to Pope Francis at the end ofthe Mass. He said the Holy Father had brought the

light of Christ even on a rainy day, and had giventhe Filipino people a great gift of his presence andhis love.

Earlier, the pope spent the morning at a livelyEncounter with the Youth held on the athletic fieldof the University of Santo Tomas. Joining the fes-tivities were more than 60 Columbian Squires andtheir adult leaders, who participated in the prayersand songs during the program.

Addressing a question from a participant about why children suffer in this world, Pope Fra ncisreplied that he could not explain with words. “Cer-tain realities in life can only be seen through eyescleansed by tears,” he said. “I invite each one of youhere to ask yourself, ‘Have I learned to weep andcry when I see a child cast aside, when I see someone with a drug problem, when I see someone who hassuffered from abuse?’”

He added, “What is the most important subjectthat you have to learn in the University, what is themost important subject you have learned in life? To

learn to love. This is the challenge that life offers you.” (kofc.org)

Love and Faith / C1

“Strengthened by Christ’s teach-ings and inspired by the challengegiven by Pope Francis, KCFAPI will continue to put into practic esimplicity, service, conviction anddevotion of serving with a heart, jus t li ke wha t our Fou nde r, Fr.George J. Willmann, SJ taught us. And as we take care of our Benef itCertificate Holders, so we mustalso take care of our bigger family, which is KCFAPI,” said Curia .

Underwriting Manager, Car-melita S. Ruiz has this to say abouther experience of the Papal Visit:“At the start, I was envy of those who had seen and had clos e con-tact with the Pope. But seeing and

hearing Pope Francis even froma far distance, amidst millions ofdevotees while soaked in rain andfeeling cold, I felt more blessed becaus e I consid er myself soakedin holy water”.

When asked what lessons they’velearned during the Papal Visit, thefollowing employees shared:• Service Office Staff – Caba-

natuan, Cherryl B. Baluyot: “Behumble…submit everything toHim and He will surprise you.Dream with the Lord; Always findtime to pray.• Fraternal Benefits Associate,

Floralin C. Bohol: “Pope Francis inHis homily in Tacloban City said,‘In your sufferings, I will walk with you with a silent heart’. For me, thismeans everything happens for a

reason and somehow good thingsfall apart, so that better ones wouldcome. Learn to appreciate things while you still have them, especiallythe gift of life.”• Financial Management &

Acc oun ti ng Ser vi ces Ass ist ant , Aq ui li na M. Ja ra ni ll a: “S ee in gPope Francis even just on thetelevision screen gave me a won-derful feeling. I was amazed athow he treats the children. Thep o w e r o f lo v e t h at I r e c e i v e dfrom God thru Pope Francis wasso overwhelming and marvelousand I felt contentment right atthat very moment. I felt peaceand happiness from his smile. Hissmile just brings back the feelingof being in love again.”• From an Anonymous em-

ployee: “The papal visit has opened

the eyes of my family to the work of

charity in action. This is a great gift which we hope to s tart and sustain

as a family.”

Mindanao Jurisdiction honorsPope Francis

Pope Francis had no chance to

visi t Minda nao, nevert heles s, lo-cal brother knights dedicated all

first degree exemplifications forthe month of January 2015 in hishonor as a gesture of their love and

respect to the Pope.“His Holiness Pope Francis is a

well-loved Pontiff. The Pope is the

face of Mercy and Compassion.May his healing message of Hopefill up the needs of the Filipinopeople especially those who suf-

fered from disasters, injustice andpoverty,” said Mindanao Deputy,Balbino Fauni.

He added that Pope Francis hasuncommon love for the poor andhe has that inspiring humility and

compassion.“May his five-day Pontifical

visit bring us Fi lipinos unity, l ove

and understanding and may ourChristian Faith b e renewed firmly”,Fauni ended.

Squires join “Papal Encounterwith the Youth”

Preparatory program and ac-tivities were held by the Luzon

Juri sdi cti on Col umbi an Squ ire stogether with the young knights(mostly former Luzon State offi-cers) before the “Papal Encounter with the Youth” last January 17 atthe Aurora A. Elementary School,Quezon City.

M o r e t h a n 8 0 C o l u m b i a nSquires led by District DeputyNoel Lacanilao participated inthe actual event held at the Uni- versit y of Santo Tomas (UST) last Januar y 18.

Participants from the Colum- bian Squires came from differentcommunities of Cubao, NuevaEcija, Pangasinan, Manila, Kalinga Apayao, Baguio, Batanga s, Lucena,Bulacan, Caloocan, Pampanga,Ilagan, Antipolo, Zambales, Cavite,Novaliches and Bataan. (Yen

Ocampo)

who has already won numerous awardsand recognitions here and abroad.

- He served as a member of theBoard of Accountancy.

Dr. Ruperto P. Somera, Ph.D,DBA, DBE, CPA - is a tax consultant,professor/lecturer, former directorof the BIR, former member of theBoard of Accountancy, Fellow taxmanagement, Fellow tax Research,Fellow tax accounting, international visiting professional fellow and dip-lomate in business education.

Despite his loaded schedules, Dr.

Somera still finds time to serve theChurch as Mass Commentator and

the community thru the Knightsof Columbus and the Knights ofColumbus Fraternal Association ofthe Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) andits wholly-owned and/or majority-owned corporations and Founda-tions as Trustee/Treasurer of theKC Philippines Foundation & KCFr. George J. Willmann, SJ Charities,Inc. and Treasurer of Mace Insur-ance Agency, Inc.

Dr. Ruperto P. Somera is marriedto Ofelia Caluncanguin, M.D. withthree children: Maria Ofelia, Ru-

perto Aniceto, M.D. (+) and Ruferick.(Annie M. Nicolas)

Rekindles / C1

Awardee / C1

Adoration / C1



C4 The Cross January 19 - February 1, 2015 Vol. 19 No. 2

Corporate Theme for 2015: KCFAPI Cares

In line with the Year of the Poor

theme of the Roman Catholic Church

for 2015 and inspired by the Pope’s

message of love and hope and his

insistence that believers should live

out their faith in practical acts of char-

ity, KCFAPI came up with its 2015

corporate theme: KCFAPI CARES

About the corporate logo:

KCFAPI is about providing protec-

tion to and safeguarding the needs

of the family.

KCFAPI provides “peace of mind

and soul”, the intangible service or

product is beyond and without mea-

sure. The white dove and an olive

branch depict this value.

In times of need and emergencies,

KCFAPI is always present, ready

to render service with concern and

compassion. Similar to an expensive

jewelry, every BC holder’s request is

handled with utmost care. The heart

symbolizes love, affection, warmth in

the handling and delivery of services.

The hand with a rosary corresponds

to KCFAPI’s readiness to extend a

helping hand, a hand of care and

support to the needy and the helpless.

The rosary represents the Church to

show that KCFAPI is closely associated

with the Roman Catholic and apostolic

Church, the Church of the Poor.

The logo conveys the message

that KCFAPI is all about giving,

serving and caring in every little yet

tangible way it can with a cheerful and

compassionate heart.

Make KCFAPI your rst choice of

benet provider. Make KCFAPI your

preferred choice.

DO you care about the widening gap between the rich and the poor? Do youcare about the environment? On thesefrightening issues, are you indifferentor ambivalent? Are you unwilling orreluctant to commit?

We, at KCFAPI, dare to be differ-ent, we are committed to serve. Wedare to CARE. KCFAPI is all about

CARING and protecting our dear brothers and sisters in Christ at a criti-cal when mercy and compassion arechallenging us to go beyond ourselves.

Charity – As it enters its 57thanniversary, KCFAPI will carry onfraternally serving the needs of BCholders with compassion. KCFAPI’stwo foundations will be unrelentingin its mission to narrow the greatdivide between the poor and rich byproviding educational opportunitiesto deserving but less privileged members of our society. It is this traditionof service, conviction, and devotionof serving with a heart, first taughtto us by our Founder Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ that endeared KCFAPIto its BC holders and scholars.

Accountability – Global warmingis upon us, it is affecting climate

patterns and we need to respond

to changing weather conditions asaccountable guardians of God’s cre-ation. KCFAPI must swiftly respondto change. Banking on its lean sizeand vast resources, a nimble KCFAPIis ready to face challenges to helpand assist its stakeholders to weather various economic storms and politicaldisturbances. To our BC holders, you

are assured that KCFAPI will expeditethe release of benefit claims.

Resilience – Through ups anddowns, KCFAPI has persevered andcontinues to stand proud and strong.Because of its strong association with the Roman Cath oli c Churc hthrough the Order of the Knights ofColumbus, KCFAPI has withstood winds of change and tough challenges, brought about by natural or man-made calamities and cultural, socialand political upheavals. Motivatedand inspired by Fr. Willmann’s legacyof love and care for the young, poorand sick and working side by side with the Order and with the supportof the Catholic community, KCFAPI will be a dominant servant - leader inpracticing, spreading and living theGospel and a courageous participant

in the spiritual revolution and spiri-

tual renewal of the Church of the Poorunder the pontificate of Pope Francis.

Excellence – KCFAPI has been and will be a n ind ispensable ally of our brothers and sisters during good or bad times. KCFAPI will continuouslysearch and apply prudent measures inmanaging capital resources to achievean optimal balance of yield and safety.

With an effi cien t fina ncia l man-agement, its BC holders are alwaysassured of a secured, fast and profes-sional settlement of benefit claims.

Stability – KCFAPI is not aboutmaking unfulfilled promises. KC-FAPI vows to protect you and yourfamily’s present and future. It has along unblemished history of excellentservice and vast resources to proveits financial strength and soundness.KCFAPI is synonymous with consis-tency, predictability and reliability.

The KCFAPI is the tie that bindstogether K of C families, whether pooror rich; in prayer, faith, hope and loveand in enjoying peace, joy and happi-ness and the heart that cares for theenvironment to ensure humanity’sexistence.

Be part of a family that CARES, be

part of KCFAPI.

Knights of Columbussponsors baptism inhonor of the Holy FatherTHE Knights of Columbus of the Diocese of Antipolo sponsored a free mass ba ptism or“Binyagang Bayan” last January 11, 2015 inhonor of the Holy Father.

K of C District A-12 and Council 15370 ofSto.Niño Parish, San Mateo, Rizal organizedand sponsored a mass Baptism for poor chil-dren with the theme: “Sharing Mercy and

Compassion”, in honor of the feast of Sto.Niño. The event was likewise dedicated to thepope himself as he visits the Philippines from January 15 to 19.

Brother Charlie Maghanoy, DistrictDeputy of District A-12, said the goal of theproject is to give the poor families the op-portunity to have their children receive theSacrament of Baptism. “Our participants livealong the riverside of barangay Sto. Niño inSan Mateo, Rizal. Some of our beneficiaries were our free ultrasound patients last March25, 2014,” he said. The Knights of Columbus

conducts free ultrasound screening for poorpregnant women year-round.

Rev. Fr. Benedict B. Lagarde M.J, thecouncil chaplain of Sto. Niño Parish, whose fathe r was a Past Grand Knight ofthe Knights of Columbus, administeredthe Sacrament.

The Binyagang Bayan underwent a feasibil-

ity study before it was announced. Differentseminars such as Pre-Mapping activity atRiverside, dialogue with Brgy Health Work-ers, and a spiritual conference were conductedafter the feasibility study. Families of childrento be baptized are slated to attend other prepa-ratory seminars such as Catechism seminarsfor parents and children.

The baptism project was led by GrandKnight Benjamin O. Vito Jr. and Project Com-mittee Chair Dr. Miguel B. Talaue, past GrandKnight of the said council. (Alain Fusana

/ CBCPNews)

Traditional Visit to the members

of the FMC

KNIGHTS of Columbus Fraternal Associationof the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) Chairman Alonso L. Tan along with President ArsenioIsidro G. Yap, EVP Ma. Theresa G. Curia, VP– Fraternal Benefits Group Gari M. San Sebas-tian, VP – Actuarial & Business Development Angelito A. Bala, Executive Secretary AnnieNicolas and KC Foundations Executive Direc-tor Roberto T. Cruz paid courtesy visits to themembers of the FMC (FOUNDER MEMBERSCOMMITTEE)

The FMC was organized by KCFAPI’s Found-

er, Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ to distribute thecontrol of the Association to seven (7) members,consisting of three (3) clerics and four (4) leadersof the Order of the Knights of Columbus.

As a tradition, KCFAPI Officers would payannual visit to the cleric members of the FMC.First to have been paid a courtesy visit was theFather Provincial of the Society of Jesus inthe Philippines, Fr. Antonio F. Moreno lastDecember 29, 2014 at the Jesuit Residence inLoyola, Quezon City.

Then on January 6, 2015, the KCFAPI of-

ficers went on to visit Dagupan Archbishopand Catholic Bishops’ Conference of thePhilippines (CBCP) President Socrates Villegasat the Arzobispado de Manila. Visit to anothercleric member of the FMC, His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on the other hand will be set after the papal visit.

KCFAPI on its 57th year of successful opera-tions, pledges its unwavering support to theprograms of the Roman Catholic Church andthe Order of the Knights of Columbus. (Ma.

Kristianne G. Pascual)

Father Provincial of the Society of Jesus in the Phil ippines and FMC member, Fr. Antonio F. Moreno, SJ (in blue polo shirt) flanked by the officers of KCFAPI ledby Chairman Alonso L. Tan, President Arsenio Isidro G. Yap and Executive VicePresident, Ma. Theresa G. Curia during the courtesy visit held last December29 at the Jesuit Residence in Loyola, Quezon City. (KC News)

DMI 2015 Planning ConferenceTHE Officers of the DMI (Daugh-ters of Mary Immaculate) led byDiocesan Regent and (KCFAPIEVP), Ma. Theresa G. Curia heldtheir planning conference re-cently at the 3rd Floor Social Hallof the KCFAPI Center in Intramu-ros, Manila.

The message of His EminenceLuis Antonio Cardinal Tagleto the Pope during the belovedPontiff’s concluding mass atthe Quirino Grandstand in Lu-neta, which states: “You arrivedin the Philippines 3 days ago.

Tomorrow, you will go. EveryFilipino wants to go with you.Don’t be afraid. Every Filipino want s to go with you – not toRome – but to the peripheries. We wa nt to go with you to theshanties, to the prison cells, tohospitals, to the world of poli-tics, finance, arts, the sciences,culture, education, and socialcommunication. We will go tothose worlds with you to bringthe light of Christ. Jesus is thecenter of your pastoral visit andthe cornerstone of the visit. We

will go, Holy Father , with you where the light of Jesus is need-edv” served as an inspiration tothe DMI in coming up with theirofficial theme for the year 2015:

“DMI loves the poor, the lost andthe abandoned”.

Using the above theme asguide, the officers of the DMIpledge to anchor all their plans

and programs for 2015 on loveand care for those who are finan-cially, emotionally and spirituallychallenged. (Ma. Kristianne

G. Pascual)

Officers of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate (DMI) headed by Diocesan Regent Sister Ma. Theresa G. Curia of theDiocese of Malolos (seated, leftmost) during their planning conference held recently at the KCFAPI Center in Intramuros,Manila. Also in photo are the Vicarial Regents of the Diocese of Malolos, the incumbent RR Sister Fely Gallardo and thePast RRs and DRs Sister Violy Luna, Sister Prising Hermogenes and Sister Flor Barcial.

KC Foundation scholars hurdle the 2014 CPA Board Examination

TWO foundation scholars passed the CPABoard Examination given last October 2014.

of her batch in high school at the School ofOur Lady of Atocha. She was likewise recog-

of Luisiana, Laguna was an active member ofColumbian Squire Circle 13274. He wishes to

Photos of Ms. Ruth Arlin C. Gomez and Mr. Jan Carlo A. Oblepias with KC Foundations Executive Director, Mr. Roberto T. Cruz.

The KCFAPI Fraternal Benefits Group held their Christmas Party last December 22 at the KCFAPI homeoffice complete with area managers and fraternal counselors in attendance.FBG News

The KCFAPI Fraternal Benefits Group conducted an opening salvo sale rally last January 12 at the KCFAPIhome office. Incentive programs for the whole year and updates were discussed in the said event. FBG News

KCFAPI officers led by Chairman Alonso L. Tan (center), President, Arsenio IsidroG. Yap (4th from left) and Executive Vice President, Ma. Theresa G. Curia (4thfrom right) together with CBCP President and Dagupan Archbishop Socrates

Villegas (5th from right). (KCFAPI News)

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CBCP Monitor Vol. 19 No. 2

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