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Quevedo warns votersabout promises of

‘change’

A3  True believers serveothers, pope says ataudience

Prophets of truth,servants of unity:A pastoral appeal inthe spirit of our loveof God and country 

MAY 2 - 15, 2016 VOL. 20 NO. 15

MonitorCBCP

PROTAGONIST OF TRUTH, PROMOTER OF PEACE CBCPMONITOR@AREOPAGUSCOMMUNICATIONS.COM

Comelec’s last minute changesalarm PPCRV

 A POLL watchdog has somequalms over the Commissionon Elections (Comelec)’spreparedness for the May 9synchronized presidential,senatorial, and local elections.

 With only six days to go be fo re th e elec ti ons, th eParish Pastoral Council forResponsible Voting (PPCRV)is a bit worried over the manymajor changes taken by theComelec in the electionprocess last month.

“And 1 2 days before

elections, the Comelecissued general instructions…so many changes for verylittle time. That is a deadlycombination,” said de Villa.

Ballot shortage?“Understandably, with

little time and unforeseenchanges, challenges dopresent themselves,” sheadded.

 Among the changes initiated by the poll body include the

Cardinal Tagle:Election isblessing withaccountabilityTHE head of Manila’s RomanCatholic Church delivered apowerful message on servantleadership to the candidates fornational positions during a Mass atthe Manila Cathedral on Monday.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle saidthe election of any candidate carries

 with it a great deal of responsibilitymore than victory.

“In being candidates, you needto know that it is a blessing thatcomes with a responsibility. If you

 win, it means you must representthe people’s dreams and commongood,” stressed the prelate.

“You are bles s ed but youhave a great responsibil ity.Blessings cannot come withoutresponsibilities. They go hand-in-hand,” he said.

The cardinal made the statementin his homily during a Mass beforethe candidates’ signing of a covenant“Truthful, Responsible, Upright,

Religious group hits Aquino inaction on El Niño  A RELIGIOUS group has questionedthe alleged inaction of the Aquinogovernment in addressing the El Niñoproblem.

The Rural Missionaries of thePhilippines said thousands of farmersare demanding relief from Mindanao,Negros, and Cagayan Valley, as thecontinuing drought worsens “theiralready impoverished state.”

“We are compelled to ask the president

 whether he is capable of hearing the cry

of the poor and hungry farmers,” saidRMP national coordinator Sr. Francis

 Añover, RSM.“It is already ironic that those who

cultivate for the country’s food needsstill need to barricade a highway to getattention for food aid,” she said.

Thousands still protestingRMP said the violent disperal of

protesting farmers in Kidapawan City

early this month did not cow the hungry

farmers into halting their mobilizationsdemanding for relief.

“If the farmers do not organizethemselves and act in unison, they andtheir families would certainly die ofstarvation. It is explicable that they are

 waging with their safety, liberty, andlives in holding protests that at leastthey have a ghting chance to get food,”

 Añover added. At the Kidapawan protest, some 6,000

Youth back CBCP’s rosarycampaign for polls

 AS the country counts thedays before Filipinos head forthe polls, the faithful committo pray the rosary daily forthe special intention of theelections, as encouraged

 by th e Ca th ol ic Bi shop s’Conference of the Philippines(CBCP).

“I pray the rosary but onlythe mystery of today. Howevergiven the current situation ofthe country, we could tryfollowing the exhortationof the [archbishop]. Afterall, it was our Mother Mary

 who always gave historical

 bre akt hro ughs for us lik e

in EDSA I,” said youthmotivational speaker JohnBernard Caasi.

 A t t e s t i n g t o t h eeffectiveness of the rosary,

 youth leade r Edwin Vallesconsiders it a “singular graceand privilege” to pray therosary daily for the intentionof the May elections.

Before anything elseHe said: “By God’s grace,

I am able to be faithful tothis request praying all fourmysteries daily for some timenow … I’d be honored to do

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Henrietta de Villa, head of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, inspects avote-counting machine during the unveiling of poll watchdog group’s command center,May 3 2016. R. LAGARDE/CBCPNEWS

CBCP vows to support‘God-fearing govt’By Roy Lagarde

THE CATHOLIC hierar-chy has vowed to support

 whoever wins in the May9 presidential elections bu t on ce rt ai n co nd i-tions.

 Archbishop Socr ates Vil lega s,Catholic Bishops’ Conference of thePhilippines (CBCP) president, saidthe next administration must comefrom an honest electoral processand whoever wins must take the

 job seriously.“…Whoever strives to heal the

 wo unds of th e di vi si ve ne ss ofpolitics, whoever respects therights of all and is earnest in his orher fear of God and is zealous forhis precepts has the support of theCBCP,” said the prelate.

“And we will do everythingtogether with our priests so thatall our people, to the remotest

 barang ays to which we minister,may rally around a just andGod-fearing government that

 visi ts no veng eanc e on foes butis characterized by mercy andcompassion for all, not only forallies!” he said.

The statement was containedin a “pastoral appeal” issued onMay 1, barely eight days beforeelection day — “the crossroads ofour journey as citizens of this landand citizens of heaven.”

Government of unity  Villegas reiterated that the CBCP

is not endorsing any candidate, but they are wil ling to support thenext administration, which willserve as an instrument of peace,reconciliation, and healing.

The bishops lamented thatthe campaign period has been“rancorous”, inicting wounds notonly on the candidates but even ontheir supporters.

 Villegas said the next administrationmust lead a government of unitythat rests neither on expediencynor compromise “but on truth and

 justice.”

Call to voters, candidates With a tight presidential race,

 based on recent surveys, he warnedCatholic voters against candidates

 who ta ke no t only “p ol it ic al lyprecarious” positions but also“morally reprehensible” ones.

“One cannot proclaim Christas King and at the same timeaccept the governance of one whosethoughts, speech, and demeanorare diametrically opposed to thedemands of submission to the

Lordship of Jesus Christ,” said Villegas.

“The des ire for chang e isunderstandable. Our people havesuered from incompetence andindifference,” he said. “But thiscannot take the form of supportinga candidate whose speech andactions, whose plans and projectsshow scant regard for the rightsof all, who has openly declaredindifference if not dislike anddisregard for the Church, speciallyher moral teachings.”

The bishops are asking Catholic voters to cast their votes not only asan act of citizenship “but also as apublic declaration of faith.”

The C BC P als o cal led oncandidates to allow voters thefree and untrammelled right toan informed choice, and not byproering them “falsehoods, muchless defraud the nation.”

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Presidential bet Vice President Jejomar Binay shakes hands with fellow candidate Manuel Roxas after signing Radio Veritas’ Covenant for Truthful, Responsible, Upright, Transparent & Honest (TRUTH) Electionsafter a Mass at the Manila Cathedral, May 2, 2016. Witnessed by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista, among others, the signing was also participated in by 17senatorial candidates. CBCPNEWS

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At UN, calls for global responseto Christian genocideNEW YORK CITY, N.Y.,

 April 28, 2016—The plight ofChristians and other Middle

East minorities demandsaction from the internationalcommunity, one leader inrelief eorts said in a panelat the United Nations.

“ W e h a v e a u n i q u eopportunity to change thingsfor the better,” said Carl

 Anderson, head of the Knightsof Columbus. “Never beforehas the world’s attention

 be en so fo cu se d on th esuering of these minorities.Never has their plight beenso high on the agenda of the

 wor ld’ s gov ernme nts , the vast majority of the world’sMuslims, and all people ofgood will.”

He said the Middle Eastcrisis is “the world’s greatesthumanitarian crisis since

 World War II.”He cited hundreds of

thousands of deaths in Syriaand Iraq, the displacementor extermination of entirecommunities, and the strainof millions of refugees from

 war and terrorism.“We face the very real

prospect of the extinction ofmany of the communitiesindigenous to the region,”

 Anderson said at a Thursdaypanel at the United Nations’Economic and Social CouncilChamber.

The panel was sponsored by the Holy See’s permanentobserver mission to the U.N.The event was part of the#WeAreN2016 congress,

 being held at various New York City venues from April28-30. The congress’ namederives from the Arabic letter“nun” that was painted on thehomes of Christians targetedfor persecution by IslamicState group sympathizers.Some supporters of theseChristians have adopted thesymbol as a sign of solidarity.

The Knights of Columbusis a Catholic fraternalorganization with over 1.8million members worldwide.The organization has raisedmore than $10.5 millionfor relief for Christians andother displaced personsand refugees in Iraq, Syria,Jordan and Lebanon.

It has also advocated ocialU.S. government recognitionof violence against Christiansand other minorities asgenocide. Anderson said theKnights’ 300-page reportdocumented atrocities andmade the legal arguments infavor of such recognition.

“ISIS and the victims weinterviewed agree on onething. Many of those targeted

 wer e ta rge ted becau se oftheir Christian faith,” he said.

He cited a fact-findingm i s s i o n t h a t f o u n devidence of widespreadrape, kidnappings, forced

conversions, slavery, murderand forced expulsion.

“Many of the incidents hadnot been previously reported.But based on what we learned,it is our impression that what

 we know today is likely to beonly the tip of the iceberg,”

 Anderson said. “A concerted,sustained eort now needs to

 be undertaken to documentthe extent of this tragedy.”

He said those interviewedshowed “great heroism.”These included people likeKahlia, a woman in her fties.She was held hostage with 47other people in Iraq. Duringher 15-day captivity, sheresisted demands to convertto Islam even at gunpoint or

 when a sword was held to herneck. She physically resistedIslamic State group militants

 who tried to rape host agegirls or take them as brides.

“Although 14 men in thegroup were coerced intosaying they would convertto Islam, Kahlia did not. Shetold her captors that sinceJesus died for her, she coulddie for him,” Anderson said.

She was not killed, but leftin the desert to walk to Erbil.Her resistance saved manypeople, refugees reported.

“We know that ISIS has killedthousands of Christians in Iraq,Syria, and Libya,” Andersoncontinued. “Mass graves have

 been reported in Syria, andthe desert between Mosul andErbil was littered with bodies as

Christians there ed too quicklyto bury neighbors and familymembers.”

He said Christians in Iraqnumbered 1.5 million in early2000s, and now are as fewas 200,000 due to war andimmigration. The Christianpopulation in Syria has fallenfrom 1.5 million to 500,000.I n d i g e n o u s C h r i s t i a ncommunities are “vulnerableand fragile” and at risk ofdisappearing entirely.

“The world stands at acrossroads. The rich tapestryof religious pluralism in theregion must be preservednow or it wil l be lostforever,” Anderson said.“If Christianity disappearsin this region, so does theopportunity for pluralismthere; and the likelihoodof majoritarian theocracy,or something worse, is

increased. The threats fromsuch an outcome to peace,stability and security – inthe region and beyond – aresubstantial.”

He recommended fourforms of action for the UnitedNations.

These include SecurityC o u n c i l r e f e r r a l o fperpetrators of genocide tothe International CriminalCourt; provision for locatingand providing relief for

 Ya zi di s, Ch ri st ia ns an dother minorities targetedfor genocide; advocacyfor full rights for religious

minorities; and preparationfor the liberation of IslamicState group-controlledterritory and restoration ofthe property of attemptedgenocide victims.

He noted that many refugeesfear going into official U.N.refugee camps. They areoverlooked and face dicultyin acquiring official refugeestatus or in emigrating.

“If displaced persons wantto return home, they should

 be supp orted—l egally andactually—in that choice,”

 Ander son said . “For thos e who have suered too muchto return to their homes—refugees who have decidedto remain in the places to

 which they ed, they should be allowed to do so. “Thesupport of the internationalcommunity will be critical on

 both counts.” (CNA)

Pope Francis speaks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City about caring for the environment and the humanperson on September 25, 2015 during the Holy Father's apostolic journey to the United States. CNA

Indian bishop tells of being kidnapped and assaulted NEW DELHI, April 29, 2016—ACatholic bishop in southern India waskidnapped and assaulted by unknownattackers demanding money.

Bishop Prasad Gallela of Cuddapahin Andhra Pradesh state was blind-folded, handcued and forcibly taken

away while he was travelling homeafter celebrating Mass at KarunagiriShrine April 25.

T h e 5 4 - y e a r - o l d s a i d t h a tunidentified kidnappers came intwo vehicles and took “me to anundisclosed location.”

“They hit me and punched meresulting in injuries all over my body.I did not resist,” Bishop Gallela tolducanews.com.

“Police are trying to find those

 behind the incident,” Bishop Gallelasaid.

The bishop said that the kidnapperskept on asking him about the nancialtransactions of the diocese.

The kidnappers also demanded 5million rupees (US$75,325) and said

that since “I help so many people, Ishould help them too,” the bishoprecounted.

“When I asked who they were, theysaid they are from the police but policedoes not behave like this,” he said.

The prelate said that early the nextday the kidnappers let him go andleft him 90 kilometers away from hisdiocese is based.

“They appeared to be paid goonsand non-Christians from the way

they talked and behaved,” said BishopGallela.

 Ar ch bi sh op Th um maB al a ofHyderabad has condemned theincident.

“It is unbelievable that such a violent atrocity is perpetrated on a

high ranking religious leader of aminority community, who is totallydedicated to the service of the needyand marginalized,” the archbishopsaid in a statement.

 Archbishop Bala appealed to lawenforcement authorities to investigatethe case thoroughly and bring to bookthe culprits.

Cuddapah, which has some 114,800Catholics, is a suragan diocese ofHyderabad Archdiocese. (UCAN)

Mainland China has 112 bishops, 99 in active ministryHONG KONG, April 28,2016—The latest statisticsof the Catholic Church in

China compiled by HongKong Diocese’s Holy SpiritStudy Centre shows thenumber of “open” bishopsor those recognized bythe government is morethan double that of thosefrom the unrecognized or“underground” community.

The 2016 Spring issue ofTripod, the center’s quarterly

 journal, has released a seriesof statistics on the CatholicChurch in China for 2015.

 According to Tripod, thereare 112 bishops in mainlandChina. Among them, 99 arein ministry while 13 are not.

“Not in ministry means

the bishop has retired or was

forced to retire,” AnthonyLam Sui-ki, executive editorof Tripod, told ucanews.com.

The 2015 figure showedthat there are 70 bishops forthe open church community,11 more than in 2014. For theunderground community,there are 29, a drop of 13compared to 2014.

 According to reports, onlyCoadjutor Bishop Joseph Zhang

 Yinlin of Anyang was ordainedandBishop Martin Wu Qinjingof Zhouzhi was installed in theopen church in 2015.

Some of the other nine bis hops newl y counted asopen bishops previously

 belong to the undergroundchurch, Lam explained.

“Some bishops no longer

think they are underground,

so we count them as belongingto the open community,” hesaid. However, he refused to

disclose who they were. An underg rou nd bis hop

g e t t i n g g o v e r n m e n trecognition means they haveagreed to be managed by thegovernment.

Declining vocationsLam pointed out that

religious vocation in thechurch in China is decliningas shown from the number ofpriests, nuns and seminarians.

 According to 2015 gures,there are 2,500 priests and3,170 nuns in the openchurch, a decline of 100priests and 80 nuns on 2014.

 As for the underground

church, there are 1,300

priests and 1,400 nuns, adecrease of 100 and 130respectively.

The open church has nineseminaries across China.The number of seminariansdropped from 560 to 425. Theunderground church presentlyhas ten seminaries withthe number of seminariansdeclining from 300 to 200

 between 2014 and 2015.H ow ever, there is a

signicant change in minorseminaries in the open church

 with a sudden increase of 11to 20 within the past year.

“The number of minors e m i n a r i e s i s a l w a y scontroversial. People mayargue with the nature of someof these seminaries,” said

Lam. (UCAN)

Vatican Briefing

Pope blasts clericalism in Latin American ChurchPope Francis issued strong words to the PonticalCommission for Latin America, calling clericalism“one of the greatest distortions” facing the localChurch.“(W)e’d do well to recall that the Church is

not an elite priests, of consecrated people, of bishops but all of us make up the faithful and Holy Peopleof God,” he said in an April 26 letter, recalling thateveryone starts out their life as laity, Vatican Radioreported. His letter was addressed to Cardinal MarcOuellet, President of the Pontical Commission forLatin America as a follow-up to commission’s recentPlenary Assembly focused on the role of the laity.The Holy Father said that clericalism seems to be theresult of “a mistaken way of living out the ecclesiologyproposed by the Second Vatican Council,” calling it,“one of the greatest distortions of the Church in Latin

 America.” (CNA)

 Vatican: suspended audit not intended to blockcurial reformThe Vatican claried that the recent suspension of anexternal audit of Vatican nances by PricewaterhouseCooper is due to problems surrounding specific

clauses in their contract, and is not meant to hinderthe ongoing reform of the Curia.“The suspension ofauditing activities is not due to considerations linkedto the integrity or quality of the work initiated by PwC,let alone the intention of one or more entities of theHoly See to block the reforms in progress,” the Vaticanstated in an April 26 communiqué. It noted that “issueshave emerged regarding the meaning and scope ofcertain clauses of the contract and their methods ofimplementation,” and stressed that “such elements willundergo the necessary examination.” (CNA)

Pope to teens: There isn’t a phone app for loveand happinessFreedom does not come from things we possess orfrom doing whatever we want, Pope Francis saidSunday, April 24 in his homily for the Jubilee for boysand girls. Rather, true freedom and happiness canonly be found in the love of Jesus. “Your happiness

has no price,” the Pope said during Mass in St. Peter’sSquare. “It cannot be bought: it is not an app that

 you can download on your phones nor will the latestupdate bring you freedom and grandeur in love.”“Thatis because love is a free gift which calls for an openheart,” he said. “It is a noble responsibility which islife-long; it is a daily task for those who can achievegreat dreams!” (CNA)

Pope urges teens to practice works of mercy Pope Francis has challenged young people to committo practicing the corporal works of mercy in orderto recognize the face of Jesus in each other.“As

 you know, the works of mercy are simple gestures, which belong to the life of every day, allowing youto recognize the face of Jesus in many persons. Even

 young people!” the Pope said in a video messag eto a youth rally at Rome’s Olympic Stadium.“Even

 young people like you, who hunger, who thirst; whoare refugees, or foreigners, or sick, and seeking ourhelp, our friendship.”Saturday’s rally was part of athree-day Jubilee of Mercy event geared toward youngpeople. The event kicked o Saturday, April 23 witha pilgrimage to the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica.Then priests—and even the Pope—heard confessionsin St. Peter’s Square. (CNA)

Ethics must guide medical research, protecthuman dignity, pope saysMoral and ethical concerns must guide medicalresearch so it will always be at the service ofprotecting human life and dignity, Pope Francis said.In that way, education and research can strive “toserve higher values, such as solidarity, generosity,magnanimity, sharing of knowledge, respect forhuman life, and fraternal and selfless love,” he said

 April 29, during an audience with people taking partin a conference on adult stem cell research.”Research,

 whether in academia or industry,” he said , “requiresunwavering attention to moral issues if it is to be aninstrument which safeguards human life and thedignity of the person.” (CNS)

Suspects arrested in alleged plot against Vatican, Israeli embassy Italian authorities arrested six suspects who allegedlyreceived orders from the Islamic State terrorist groupto attack the Vatican and the Israeli embassy in Rome.The arrests made in Lombardy and Piedmont April 28

 were the result of a joint operation coordinated by thedistrict attorney of Milan and the Italian anti-terrorismagency. According to the Italian news agency ANSA,authorities arrested Abderrahim Moutaharrik andhis wife, Salma Bencharki; Abderrahmane Khachia,and three people who have maintained contact with acouple that left Italy to join the Islamic State in Syria.

 All of the suspects are of Moroccan origin. A warranthas been issued for the couple, Mohamed Korachi andhis Italian wife, Alice Brignoli, who are believed to haveleft for Syria in 2015. (CNS)

Holy Spirit works through listening to oneanother, pope says

 A person who is afraid of listening to others whenconfronting a new situation does “not have the Spirit intheir heart,” Pope Francis said. Only through listeningto others with humility can the Holy Spirit work and“the Communion of the Church” be expressed, he saidtoday during the Mass in the chapel of the DomusSanctae Marthae. “Even today there is resistance thatcontinues in one form or another and the Spirit goesforward,” he said. “This path of the Church: to meet,to meet together, to listen to one another, to argue, topray and decide.” (CNS)

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True believers serve others,pope says at audience VATICAN, April 27, 2016—To ignore the suffering of

another person is to ignoreGod, Pope Francis said. And go ing to ch urch

does not automaticallymake someone love theirneighbor, the pope said April27 as he reflected on theGospel parable of the goodSamaritan during his weeklygeneral audience.

Christians are called toimitate the good Samaritan,stopping to help the injured,

 because the good Samaritanis a symbol of Jesus, who

 bent down to hel p and toheal all humanwity, the popesaid.

By describing the priest

and the Levite who passed by wit hou t off ering help,Pope Francis said, theparable makes it clear that“it is not automatic that one

 who fr equents the hous eof God and has known hismercy knows how to love hisneighbor.”

“You can know the whole

Bible, you can know all theliturgical rubrics, you canknow all theology, but thatknowledge does not makeloving automatic,” he said.

“Love has another path.Pope Francis insistedthere is no such thing as“true worship if it does nottranslate into service to one’sneighbor. Let us never forget:in the face of the sueringof so many people wornout by hunger, violence andinjustice, we cannot remain

spectators“ T o i g n o r e h u m a n

suffering—what does thatmean? It means ignoringGod,” he told an estimated

25,000 people in St. Peter’sSquare. “If I do not drawnear to the man or woman orchild or older person who issuering, I cannot draw nearto God.

 While the pries t and theLevite—the two orthodoxreligious gures in the story—have “closed, cold” hearts,

the pope said, the Samaritan, wh o wa s co ns id er ed an

impure pagan, had a heartthat was “synchronized withthe heart of God.”

The sign that one is close toGod, the pope said, is showingcompassion to others likeGod shows compassion tous. “What does that mean?He suers with us. He feelsour suering.

Like the good Samaritan,he said, God “does not ignoreus. He knows our pain. Heknows how much we needhis help and consolation. Hedraws near to us and neverabandons us.

Pope Francis asked thoseat the audience to consider

 whether they believe that Godhas compassion for them, asthey are—with their sins andtheir wounds—and that he“draws near to us, heals us,caresses us. And if we refusehim, he waits. He is patientand always alongside of us.”(Cindy Wooden/Catholic News Service)

Priest calls St. Joseph ‘innovative model of manliness’ MOLO, Iloilo City, April 28, 2016—

 As one of the import ant themeshighlighted by Pope Francis in his latestapostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia

(The Joy of Love), to complement thepositive achievements of feminism, isthe importance of promoting a healthy

 viri lity, a Bible scholar sees in St.Joseph an exact model of gentle andfatherly manliness.

“A closer reading of the Gospelsreveals that St. Joseph was a strongprotector and a responsible provideras can be observed in the way he tookcare of the Child Jesus and HolyMary,” said Fr. Rey Zerrudo in aninterview with CBCP News.

The professor of Biblical Studiesin St. Joseph Regional Seminaryand parish priest of San JoseObrero Parish in Molo, Iloilo City,underscored that the threats theHoly Family had to face in their

time are analogous to the challengesfamilies have to confront in moderntimes.

 A frm protector“St. Joseph was a man who could

make firm decisions as he had toprotect the Child Jesus and HolyMary from the attacks of KingHerod’s men. Afterwards, on their

return to Israel from Egypt, hetook the initiative of settling inanother town, in Nazareth insteadof Bethlehem, upon learningthat Archelaus, who was twice ascruel as Herod, was reigning [in]Judea.”

“God sets the father in the familyso that by the gifts of his masculinityhe can be ‘close to his wife and shareeverything, joy and sorrow, hopeand hardship’,” says Pope Francis in

 Amoris Laetitia.Recalling his encounter with

families in Manila, the Pope said,“The family is also threatened bygrowing eorts on the part of someto redefine the very institution ofmarriage, by a lack of openness to

life.”Pope Francis was referring to

the threat that actually destroysf a m i l i e s : t h e s o u r c e o f t h i sdestruction he called “ideologicalcolonization.”

 A good providerIn another episode in the Gospels,

the nding of the Child Jesus in thetemple, the priest saw in St. Joseph

“a conscientious worker and a goodprovider.”

“St. Joseph was able to provide wellfor his family. For a craftsman to havetime to go every year from Nazareth toJerusalem for the Feast of the Passovermeant that he worked hard and savedfor his family to the extent that, asa father, he could be with them tocelebrate occasions that are importantfor their faith and the family.”

“In our day, the problem nolonger seems to be the overbearingpresence of the father so much ashis absence, his not being there.Fathers are often so caught up inthemselves and their work, and a ttimes in their own self-fulfillment,that they neglect their families,”

the pontiff himself noted in hislatest apostolic exhortation.

For St. Joseph to be regardedas a model of fathers could not beemphasized more. (Fr. MickeyCardenas / CBCP News)

Suspended audit reveals power struggle at the Vatican VATICAN, April 25, 2016—The recent suspension of anaudit of Vatican nances bya major accounting rm shedlight on a lively debate withinthe Sacred Walls about the

 balance of power between theSecretariat of State and the

Secretariat for the Economy.The debate is, in fact, a

result of the Curia reform begun by Pope Francis.

The international auditingrm Pricewaterhouse Cooper(PwC) was hired Dec. 5 by theSecretariat for the Economyto audit the Vatican’s 120financial departments ’

 bo ok s an d ch ec k if th eyhad been led according tointernational accountabilitystandards.

The auditing was suspended April 12 by the Secretariatof State, with two letters

 by Cardinal Pietro Parolin,Secretary of State, and by his

deputy, Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu. The lette rsreportedly claimed thatproper procedures had not

 been correctly applied.No ocial statement from

the Holy See Press Officeconrmed or dismissed thepresence of the letters, or thesuspension.

 A sp ok es pe rs on of th eSecretariat for the Economy,however, stressed Apr.21 that Cardinal Pell, theprefect, “was bit surprisedat the Archbishop’s letter,

 but anti cipa tes tha t, afterdiscussion and claricationon some issues, the work of

PwC will resume shortly.”

T h e C a r d i n a l ’ ss p o k e s p e r s o n a l s ounderscored that “the workof the internal auditor, whichcovers all the areas, has not

 been interrupted.”The same day, Archbishop

Becciu said in a TV interview

that the PwC contract “wassuspended, not rescinded,”and emphasized that thecontract was not signed bythe body in charge of it; thatis – according to him – theCouncil of Cardinals.

However, the Councilof Cardinals is charged

 wi th ad vi si ng th e Po peabout issues on Churchg overnment and C uriareform: it is not an official

 body with the capac ity forsigning contracts.

The Secretariat for theEconomy then delivered arelease April 22 in whichit clarified that “the PwC

contract is with the Councilfor the Economy which, asis clear in its Statutes, isthe competent body for theappointment of externalauditors.”

The Secretariat for theEconomy also stressed that“the Council is the competent

 body – not the Secretariatof State, and certainly notthe C9, which is an advisory

 body for the Holy Father andoperates without any formalrole in the governance of theHoly See,” and pointed out“that the PwC contract wassigned by the Chair of theCouncil’s Audit Committee

and co-signed by the Prefect

of the Secretariat for theEconomy, fo l low ing aunanimous resolution of theCouncil to appoint PwC anda direction to proceed.”

 All of this cut and thrustr e v e a l e d a n o n - g o i n gdiscussion within the Vatican

 Walls about the competencesof the new dicasteries.

On one side, the Secretariatof State is working to maintainits central position amongthe Curia dicasteries. Itsposition has been threatened

 by the Sec ret ari at for theEconomy, created in 2014 tohave nancial oversight overall Vatican City and Holy Seeinstitutions.

 Yet in the course of Francis’pontificate, the Secretariatof State has step by stepregained importance.

In a letter to CardinalParolin dated Oct. 14, 2015,Pope Francis underscored

that the “status quo” ofthe Curia offices had to berespected until the reforms

 we re co mp le ted , wh ichmeans the Secretariat ofState is still the central bodyof the Curia.

 As the Secretariat of Stategained importance, theSecretariat for the Economylost some of its impact. The

 work of the Secretariat for theEconomy was at rst sloweddown by the drafting of itsstatutes, and afterwards byresistance from elsewhere inthe Curia.

However, it is simplisticto read the facts as the

struggle between an opaque

Italian bureaucracy and atransparent Anglo-Saxonstyle, as some English-l a n g u a g e m e d i a h a v esuggested.

The path to Vat icanfinancial transparency andaccountability has always

found res is tance, andCardinal Pell’s Secretariat hassimply become the perfecttarget for acts of resistance.

 Wh o is it th at do es n’ t want the procedures carriedforward? This is the recurrentquestion in Vatican nancial

 bodies. According to a sourcefamiliar with Vatican nances“this kind of resistance comesout at the mid-ranks, whilethe top ranks exploit theresistance to reinforce theirposition.”

S o , s o m e i n t e r n a lresistance fell in the dialectic

 between the Secretariat forState and the Secretariat

for the Economy. The factthat both of those are called“Secretariat” is important, asthey are formally put on par

 with one another.The pres ence of the

Secretariat for the Economymight diminish the impact ofthe Secretariat of State, and a

 balance of power has yet to beachieved.

This discussion is the rstnotable rebound of PopeFrancis’ Curia reform. If thediscussion is not resolved,there well may be otherrebounds, further aectingthe progress of reform.(Andrea Gagliarducci/ 

CNA/EWTN News)

 VATICAN, April 26, 2016—Pope Francis may soon oerthe Society of Saint PiusX regular canonical status

 within the Church, without

requiring the acceptance ofcertain texts of the Second Vatican Council with whichthey disagree.

It also appears the SSPXmay itself be poised totake such a historic step,u r g i n g t h a t “ p e r h a p sonly Pope Francis is ableto take this step, givenhis unpredictability andimprovisation”, according toan internal SSPX documentthat was leaked to the pressin recent weeks.The memo,titled “Considerations onthe Church and the positionof the Society of Saint PiusX in it”, outlines six reasons

 why the group should acceptan offer of regularization

 by Pope Francis, prov ided“an appropriate ecclesialstructure” is ensured. It alsoaddresses possible objectionsraised against such a move.

“It seems the time tonormalize the situation ofthe Society has come,” thememo reads.

The document, dated Feb.19, was written by Fr. FranzSchmidberger, rector of theSSPX’s seminary in Germany.Fr. Schmidberger had servedas superior general of theSSPX from 1982 to 1994.Inthe memo, Fr. Schmidberger

asserts that the Vatican has been “g radual ly loweri ngits demands and recentproposals, no longer speakof recognizing neither theSecond Vatican Council northe legitimacy of the NovusOrdo Missae.”

On Apri l 1 0, Bis hopBernard Fellay, the currentsuperior general of the SSPX,said before some 4,000pilgrims in the French cityof Le Puy-en-Velay that thereis a “profound change” inthe Society’s relationship

 with the Vatican, triggered by the “dire sit uatio n” ofthe Church: “in the midst of

this disorder … comes this whisper: ‘No, we cannot force you to accept the Council .’They perhaps will not sayit so clearly, but they didindeed say it to us after all.

 Al be it ca re fu ll y, th es eassertions are to someextent matched by similarutterances from Rome.

 Archbishop Guido Pozzo,secretary for the PonticalCommission Ecclesia Dei—the Vatican office of theresponsible for doctrinaldiscussions with the SSPX—said in an April 6 interview

 with La Croix that “as far asthe Second Vatican Council

is concerned, the groundcovered in the meetingsover the past few yearshas led to an importantclarication: Vatican II can

 be ade quatel y unders toodonly in the context of the fullTradition of the Church andher constant Magisterium.”

“Certain questions canremain ‘subject to discussiona n d c l a r i f i c a t i o n ’ , ”

 Archbishop Pozzo added.S i m i l a r l y , F r .

S c h m i d b e r g e r ’ s m e m oasserts that whilst the group

 would like to “retur n from its‘exile’”, further discussions

 would be expected: “We wil l

not be silent, more over, we will point out the errors byname. Before and after ournormalization.”

Reliable sources insidethe SSPX have conrmed toCNA that the leaked memofrom Fr. Schmidberger,

 which apparently was meantfor circulation among theleadership of the Society,i s i n d e e d a u t h e n t i c .Comprising seven sectionsa n d r u n n i n g t o t h r e epages, it concisely covers asummary of the history ofthe relationship with Romeand an outline of argumentsfor a full reconciliation, to

the practical considerations

Could reconciliation with

the SSPX arrive with ease?

of such a move. It evenincludes a kind of “FAQ”-section, answering the mostfrequently raised concerns of

a reconciliation with Romefrom the perspective of thosein the SSPX more hesitantabout reconciliation withRome.

Fr. Schmidberger citedseveral reasons that thet ime to reg ularize thecanonical situation of theSSPX has some, includingthat fact that “any abnormalsituation lends itself tonormalization.” He notedthe danger in losing therealization that the Society’ssituation is abnormal, andseeing it instead as normal:if the priests of the Society“feel comfortable in this

situation of liberty withrespect to dependence onthe heirarchy, then thisimplies a gradual loss ofthe sensus ecclesiae.”Thememo als o noted thatthere are members of theChurch’s hierarchy who aresympathetic to them, butthat they can only collaborateafter regularization, and thatthe SSPX will need new

 bis hops in the future andthat licit consecration should

 be pursued.In its conclusion, the text

argues that if “God wantsto come to the eective aidof His Church, which is

 bleedin g from a thou sand wounds, he has thous andsof d i f ferent means ofdoing so. One of these isthe official recognitionof the SSPX through theRoman authorities.” It thencloses with a prayer for theintercession of the VirginMary.

It has been speculatedthat the normalization of theSSPX would be accomplished

 by recogniz ing the group asa “personal prelature,” acanonical structure whichso far has only been used forOpus Dei.

The SSPX was founded

 by A rch bi s h op M ar celLefebvre in 1970 to formpriests, as a response to

 what he described as errorsthat had crept into theChurch following the Second

 Vatican Council. Its relations with the Holy See becameparticularly strained in 1988

 when Archbishop Lefebvreand Bishop Antonio deCastro Mayer consecratedfour bishops without thepermission of Pope JohnPaul II.

The illicit consecrationr e s u l t e d i n t h ee x c o m m u n i c a t i o n o ft h e s i x b i s h o p s ; t h e

excommunications of thesurviving bishops werelifted in 2009 by BenedictX V I , a n d s i n c e t h e n ,negotiations “to rediscoverfull communion with theChurch” have continued

 between the Society and the Vatican.

I n r e m i t t i n g t h eexcommunications, Benedictalso noted that “doctrinalquestions obviously remainand until they are clariedthe Society has no canonicalstatus in the Church and itsministers cannot legitimatelyexercise any ministry.”(Christoph Wimmer/ 

CNA/EWTN News)

SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson. FSSPX.ORG

8/17/2019 CBCP Monitor Vol. 20 No. 15

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A4 CBCP MonitorMay 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

THAT a horde of millions of Filipinos, including those abroad, will loudly lend their support to a presidential candidate whopromises change and strong political will despite vulgarity,loose character and a track record of human rights violations,not to mention a platform of reform that overtly promisesthe use of death squads to curb criminality, is big proof that

people are tired of the status quo.People seemingly want change, not continuity. Which may

also be the reason why, the administration’s candidate istrailing most notably in earlier social surveys. Disputablythough, the change that people were hoping for after martiallaw did not make any substantial dierence. Productivity andself-suciency in staple food, for instance, grew even less andless so that post-martial law administrations, especially theincumbent, had to import an average of over a million or sometric tons of rice annually because local production is not atpar with local demands. Rice cartel and large scale corruptionhave made low local productivity as a convenient alibi.

Graft and corruption during martial law was a monopolyof the tyrant and his cronies. In the governments thatfollowed, corruption has become as widespread as the wholegovernment network—but especially of the political party inpower. In June 2010, when President Benigno Simeon AquinoIII rose to power, people apparently invested on him theirlast straw of hope that he would be the change that they wereclamoring for. People were ecstatic at his inaugural when hecondently declared: “Walang lamangan, walang padrino, at

 walang pagnanakaw. Walang wang-wang, walang counter-ow, walang tong,” vowing to put an end to corruption,patronage, petty extortion and the use of sirens and traccounter-ow. His entry into Malacañang was touted by amedia network as “the dawn of a new day”.

But that did not last long. In August 2010 when he and his menpitifully mismanaged a hostage-taking at the Quirino Grandstand,the cracks of the “matuwid na daan” started showing. Quickly hisadministration was likened to “running the country like a studentgovernment” by then Senator Joker Arroyo. But the amateurishmismanagement would prove fatal in Super Typhoon Yolanda,the Zamboanga siege and the infamous SAF 44 in Mamasapano,not to mention other lapses that squandered lives and people’staxes. The peak of large scale corruption would be seen at theDisbursement Acceleration Program totaling to P149.25 billion bythe time it was outlawed by the Supreme Court. This gargantuanamount together with the Priority Development Assistance Fund(PDAF) that bowed out as the biggest national scam of all time

 were reportedly used to buy out both the legislature’s and the judiciary’s constitutional independence. The government’s mosttrumpeted economic success would be dumped a farce in theface of heavy unemployment or what independent observers call“jobless growth”.

People’s clamor for change is understandable enough.To insist on the continuity of “tuwid na daan” would befutile. But to assign that change to a presidential candidate

 whose very life and methods are in need of change would beindiscriminate if not fanatical.

MonitorPROTAGONIST OF TRUTH, PROMOTER OF PEACE CBCP

Pedro QuitorioEditor-in-Chief 

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OPINION

Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS 

 And That’s The Truth

Candidly Speaking / A7

Pastoral action to transform politics

Change not continuity

HOW do we go about changing the way politics is done inthe Philippines so that, instead of being a stumbling block, itpositively contributes to integral development, including thespiritual growth, of our people? How renew politics so that it

 becomes a channel for our people’s well being and growth inthe life of grace?

The most basic work that has to be done is catechesis onpolitics or Christian education in politics. At present thereis a tragic dichotomy between our faith-life as a people andour political culture. This dichotomy prevents our faith fromhaving a say in our political activities. As a result our politicalculture is characterized by deception, dishonesty, fraud,

 violence, corruption, pay-os, and patronage. Yet most of theparticipants in the political process call themselves Christians.But catechesis on politics cannot have any lasting eect if doneonly on the occasion of elections. It should be done as part andparcel of regular catechesis—”in season, out of season.”

 We have seen how many voters are inuenced in choosing certaincandidates not out of conscience but because of family relationships.

 We also know that the popularity of a candidate or the prospects ofpolitical and economic rewards, money and gift—and a wrong senseof utang na loob–are strong factors in people’s voting behavior.Competence, honesty, personal integrity and an acceptable programof government are not primary considerations.

There is at present no program through which persons ofintegrity and political knowledge can be prepared to participatein the noble but dicult art of politics. The Federation of Asian

Bishops Conferences has more than once called for such apreparation in the light of the Asian political situation. Suchan agenda is especially imperative in the Philippine situation.

Possible political leaders should be schooled in the principlesand practice of doing politics in a Christian way, in accord

 with the Gospels, the values of the Kingdom of God, the moralteachings of the Church, especially its social teachings. Animplication of PCP-II’s stand urging persons in responsiblepositions to promote actively the election of worthy candidatesis the necessity of preparing these candidates for public oce. Ifeconomic managers are schooled in their eld, political leadersshould also be formed so that they may discharge the burdensof public oce with competence and integrity.

-- Lifted from CBCP’ s Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics, 1997

EDITORIAL

Fr. Roy Cimagala 

Candidly Speaking

I S U P P O S E i t ’ s b a s i c a n dcommonsensical that when we expressour opinions and engage among

ourselves in some exchanges of ourpersonal views, ideas, and preferences,

 we always need to be courteous rst ofall and then always to be constructiveand positive in our tact.

Upholding unity and living therequirements of charity rank far higherthan simply wanting to be right or toscore a point in any given contention. Weshould never forget this principle.

Especially in the area of politics, whereopinions vary due to the immense varietyof people’s preferences, we should see toit that the tone of our discourse is keptcalm and respectful. Given the volatilecharacter of politics, we should learn howto hold our horses, so as not to be carriedaway by our unbridled and intemperatepassions and biases.

In the rst place, we cannot be toostrong or too sure about our politicalopinions because no matter how right we

feel we are, we certainly do not have theexclusive right to possess all the truth.Everyone always has something valid tosay, no matter how small.

 And in the second place, there simplyare just too many unknown factorsthat are at play. We cannot account foreverything no matter how smart anddiligent we are in building up our position.

 And in the third place, we simply haveto learn to live with imperfect personsand candidates, as well as imperfectsystems and structures. We cannot betoo simplistic as to paint our favoredcandidate as entirely saintly, completelyincapable of committing a mistake andour undesired candidate is entirelydevious, completely incapable to doinganything good.

The least thing that we can do is notto be too attached to our ideas and ourpreferences. While it’s true that we

somehow shape our destiny, that taskis always a joint eort among ourselvesand ultimately between God and us.Never ignore the indications of divineprovidence, the promptings of the HolySpirit who is the Lord of history.

That is why, we can never have apolitical discourse that is t for human

 beings, let alone, children of God, if it isnot preceded, accompanied, and followedup by prayer and sacrice, together withdue study and consultations.

 W i t h o u t t h e s e f u n d a m e n t a lrequirements we end up attackingeach other like cats and dogs. Andthat’s what’s happening these days. Inthe heat of the political polemics, weare witnessing a lot of shooting from

And That’s the Truth / A6

FOUR days before electionday, the air is thick witha p p r e h e n s i o n . I s t h eComelec ready to cope withthe Big Day, with all these

 bla cko uts and brown out shere and there? How can theyguarantee there’ll be no morecyber-hacking? If Comeleccomputers can be hacked, howcan we be sure election results

 won ’t be tampe red wit h? Will it be a safe and peacefulelection? Will there be nocheating, no vote-buying, nopoll-related violence, really?

 Will my candidates make it,or will they be cheated out ofa rightful victory? There will

 be cheati ng for sure—andcandidates to high oces areready with countermeasures—

 be ca us e th e ca nd id at e a“superpower” wants as ournext president must becomeour next president.

The high level of anxietyseems to be caused by the

 way various media are givingprominence to survey results.SWS, Pulse Asia, and othersurvey results by themselvescan’t aect people’s views—

 bu t wh en di sc lo sed th ey become media meat, and whensocial media join the foray, thesignificance of the figuresgets blown out of proportion.

 Worse is when people dependon survey results in deciding

 whom to vote for. We must bear in mind that surveysreveal the sentiment of merely1,800 respondents out ofthe country’s 54.4 registered

 vote rs. Despite the clai msof those who conduct them,surveys are not impervious tohuman error or evil.

But let’s not blame SWS,Pulse Asia, or the media whenthe “final survey results”revealed on election day arenot to our liking. We must beprepared for that by puttingour intelligence and our faithin the service of our vote.

The CBCP Pastoral LetterProphets of Truth, Servantsof Unity hit the nail on thehead when it said, “… theCatholic Church has alwaysdemanded of Catholic votersthat they cast their votes as anact not only of citizenship butalso as a public declarationof faith. We ask this mostearnestly of all of you, Catholic

 brothers and sisters, in theforthcoming election.”

Unlike the INC whose ockmerely follows the choice oftheir leadership, the CatholicChurch trusts its membersand gives them the freedom

Saints Speakon the Eucharist

SAINT Peter JulianE ym a r d   ( 1 81 1 - 1 86 8) ,known as the “Apostle ofthe Eucharis t , ” is thefounder of the BlessedSacrament Fathers (SSS)

 who pro mot e dev oti on tothe Blessed Sacrament; theyare dedicated to perpetualadoration.

Father Eymard advocatedfrequent reception of HolyCommunion at a time whenthis was a rare practice.He asserts: “In one daythe Eucharist will make

 you produce more for theglory of God than a wholelifetime without it.” “To bepossessed by Jesus and topossess Him—that is theperfect reign of Love.” “Until

 we have a pass iona te lovefor our Lord in the MostBlessed Sacrament we shallaccomplish nothing.”

“The Eucharist is the linkthat binds the Christianfamily together; take away

the Eucharist and you have no

 brotherliness left.” “CorpusChristi is the most lovableof feast days. Let this feasttherefore be one of joy, andlet us expect from it the mostabundant blessings.”

Saint Therese of theChild Jesus  (1873-1897),commonly known as the“Little Flower,” wrote in her

autobiography (The Storyof a Soul ): “How I loved thefeasts! … I especially lovedthe processions in honor ofthe Blessed Sacrament. Whata joy it was for me to throwowers beneath the feet ofGod! … I was never so happyas when I saw my roses touchthe sacred Monstrance.”

“By our little acts of charitypracticed in the shade weconvert souls far away, wehelp missionaries, we winfor them abundant alms,and by that means buildactual dwellings spiritual andmaterial for our EucharisticLord.”

“Heaven for me is hidden

in a little Host where Jesus,my Spouse, is veiled for love.I go to that Divine Furnace todraw out life, and there mySweet Savior listens to menight and day.” “Holiness isa disposition of the heart thatmakes us humble and little inthe arms of God.”

Saint Thomas Aquinas

(1225-1274), a Dominicanp r i e s t a n d D o c t o r o fthe Church, wrote muchprofound theology; he also

 wro te bea uti ful hym ns ofEucharistic Adoration. His

 well-known hymns are: Panis Angelicus (Bread of Angels), Ador e te Devo te  (HumblyI Adore Thee), O Salutaris

 Hosti a (O Saving Victim),  Pange Lingua Gloriosi (Tell,my Tongue, the Mystery),and Tantum Ergo (Down in

 Adoration Falling).T h o m a s e l o q u e n t l y

explained many dimensionsof the Eucharist. “Materialfood first changes into the

one who eats it, and then, as a

consequence, restores to himlost strength and increaseshis vitality. Spiritual food, onthe other hand, changes theperson who eats it into itself.”

“Thus, the effect properto this Sacrament is theconversion of the personinto Christ, so that he may nolonger live, but Christ lives in

him. Consequently, it has thedouble eect of restoring thespiritual strength he had lost

 by his sins and defects, andof increasing the strength ofhis virtues.”

R e g a r d i n g C h r i s t ’ spresence in the Eucharist,T h o m a s w r o t e : “ I t i sabsolutely necessary toconfess according to Catholicfaith that the entire Christ isin this sacrament.”

Profound Wisdom. Indeed, the above shortquotes from three well-known saints reflect greatinsight into the beautiesof the Eucharistic faith of

Catholics!

Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM 

Living Mission

‘Year of Eucharist and Family’ Reflection

On expressing opinions

The electoralhodgepodge

8/17/2019 CBCP Monitor Vol. 20 No. 15

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A5CBCP Monitor May 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

BARELY a week before the much talked about May 9elections, dierent opinions from all walks of life aboutthe presidential candidates could be heard and readover radio and television talk shows, newspapers, andsocial media. The talks and debates had peaked to apoint where relationships and friendships have beenstrained and lost, and worst has led to useless killing.

I was surng through the posts in Facebook when Icame across the story of a netizen, Ms. Evelyn de Leon-Estrada, who really nailed it on the head, a very timelyand appropriate advice which is a must for everyoneto heed: “Don’t let a presidential debate injure greatfriendships. We all have to live with the decision of thepeople come May 9, and our bets may lose the election,

 but we don’t have to lose friends because of it. So takeextra care in choosing your words when arguing your

point with your friends. The candidates (that) youstaunchly defend won’t even know you exist.” (highlightsupplied.).

In connection with that, may I add that in ourdiscussions of the issues, let us not resort to usingprofane, obscene, and condescending words whichdo not only humiliate and embarrass the candidates

 but also degrade the personality and integrity of theirsupporters. In climbing up the stairs of power, do notpull others down. Let us stick to intelligent exchange ofideas on issues and platforms, since we are all civilizedpeople, aren’t we?

The present candidates may not live up to ourexpectations because we are given a limited eld tochoose from. We have to accept the fact that whether welike it or not, we must choose whom we think is the best.Our choice may be the lesser evil, but let it be; they arethe only persons to choose from. That is better, insteadof allowing to win the least qualied and the one who

 would bring our country to doomsday. Despite the lackof qualied candidates, the Filipino voters must reallydeliberate and evaluate whom they will vote, especiallyon who will be our country’s President. Experiencein the past should have taught all of us that the bestdebater is not necessarily the best person. A candidatecan be very articulate and expert in the choice of wordsthat click with the electorate, but words are not enough,

 we need action. A candidate may not frequent the church of his

chosen religion; he may not talk God’s Words; he maynot do God’s work; however, is it not true that, not allchurch-goers walk the talk; not all who profess to bereligious, practice what they preach? Let the person

 without sin cast the rst stone.Let us go out and vote those whom we think are good

servant leaders. Let us elect the ones whose foremostaim is the interest of the people, not their own personaland vested interest. Let us vote those who are not afraid

to make decisions and would not be inuenced by theircampaign fund contributors. Let us support those who

 will not be swayed by fear or fervor, those who will notdie if they did not win, those who are willing to dieserving the people.

Bishop Ruperto Santos, Bishop of Balanga andChairman of CBCP Episcopal Commission on Migrantand Itinerant People issued a statement about therevival of the “Tanim-Bala” at the NAIA. We are “again”confronted with the shameful tanim-bala scandal withthe “discovery” of a bullet in the bag of a 75-year oldBalikbayan woman, and her allegation that she wasasked to fork out Php50,000 to keep the “discovery”under wraps and the charge against her withdrawn.

The questions in our minds are, “why is thishappening again?” How can the airport authoritiescontinue to be negligent and indierent to this type ofincidents? Can they not nd out the real and credibleexplanation for this? Why haven’t they found out and

 brought to justice the MIAA personnel responsiblefor this?”

Bishop Santos stated: “It is not fun in the Philippines when our airport authorities showed their insensitivityand callousness towards the elderly Balikbayan andOFW whose love of country they manifest with theirhomecoming and sacrices for their loved ones it isno longer fun in the Philippines and our airport earnsnotoriety as a place of extortion and blackmailing.Our OFW’s and travelling Filipinos should not haveto experience the anxiety and fear that come from it.Identify, arrest, prosecute, convict, and punish all thoseresponsible for this, so we can bring stability to ourtravel systems and restore the trust and condence ofour OFWs and all Filipinos traveling from or to theirown country.”

During the recent debate, Presidentiable Mar Roxassaid that he will remove the X-ray machines at theNAIA Terminal entrance and that he will only retain

the X-ray before entering the plane. My younger sisterexclaimed: “Goodness! The terrorists would lovethis. They would have bombed and NAIA would haveexploded already before passengers reach the airplaneentrance. Common sense, it should be the other wayaround. Mar Roxas is so out of touch with the realissues...” I better end the quote, lest I be put in a badlight, hahaha.

 Happy Birthday to Fr. Oscar Lucas, OMI, Fr. OscarLucas, and Rev. Jay Arvin (Mendoza) De Leon ndHappy Sacerdotal Anniversary to Fr. Heriberto

 Villas, OMI, Fr. Ramon Bernabe, OMI, Fr. RomeoMarcelino, OMI, Fr. Hilario Siñgian, Jr., OP, andFr. Ricardo Torrefiel. Happy Birthday also to my

 brot her- in-la w Roberto Imperial , husba nd of mysister Flordeliza, and father of my nephew and niecesRoberto Enrico, Ria Edeliza, and Raiza Elmira.Happy Birthday also to Jefferson Ledesma of SanRoque Cathedral.

Collection BoxFr. Jerome R. Secillano, MPA

Fr. Francis Ongkingco 

Whatever

OPINION

Summer MIBs

I WAS helping out in FORGE, a summer boy’s youth camp organized by someparents and friends. Some seventy

 boys par tic ipa ted in the camp tha t would immerse them into almost anentire week of sports, obstacle coursesand hikes, guitar, drawing and other

hobby classes, character building talks,meeting boys from other schools, andmany more fun events.

There were additional staers, alsostudents from higher year levels,

 who helped out as counselors to the you nge r boy s. Eac h wer e as sig nedthree to four younger boys whom theyaccompanied through each day’s eventsand personally engaged to focus on areasof improvement in their character. Theexperience was awesomely inspiring to

 both the counselors and the campers!Spiritual power-ups to these activities

 were daily Mass and confessi ons forthose who wanted, and spiritualguidance for the older boys. Honestly,it was also a very moving experience forme to witness how the boys –of dierentages and backgrounds—

 bonded and matured together.The last day of the camp was celebrated

 with a Mass and a short program for theparents who arrived to pick up their

 boys. Some of the campers displayedtheir paintings, sketches, and plasticscale models. The rest performed withmusical instruments and songs in the

program for their families.In the Mass I asked the boys to

consider what they could take homefrom the camp. Surely, they couldn’t

 bring home Zoro, the campers’ favoritegoat mascot that behaved more like adog than a goat. Neither can they bring

home the air, the grass, and the waterfrom the lake. So what can we bring?

I suggested three youthful MIBs thatthey could carry on with during thesummer break:

a) Make It Bawi: Going back to theirusual environment means digital comforts,food intake, and companions. The youthcamp was quite a challenge! Since oneof the requirements was not to bring anydigital device. The boys naturally missedtheir tablets, XBOXs, and the latest inFacebook. Another challenge was food!Besides the quantity, it was not beingable to be picky at what to eat. They wereencouraged to take whatever was prepared.

Now, making bawi doesn’t meansplurging on what they had missedfor nearly a week on digital devicesand food. It refers more to learninghow to rectify when making mistakesor lacking in family and social duties.Instead of being indierent, they oughtto promptly rectify and begin again. Butthis requires another ‘B’.

 b) Make It Banat: This literally means“giving it your ALL.” Rectifying wouldnot be complete if one doesn’t put all

his heart into it. Thus, when we beginagain from failures, mistakes, and evenour sins, we mustn’t merely “correcta wrong” but raise the struggle a levelhigher. This means not being satised ornot giving in to mediocrity. One way toknow if one is “making bawi” sincerely

is his eorts to do things well and better.Summer gives us many opportunities

to make it banat. For example, insteadof simply avoiding sporadic laziness, wecould come out with a personal scheduleto productively use both time andresources. Another would be not simply“hanging out with friends” but to “planout things with them” to do things thatthey wouldn’t have a chance of doingduring the school year.

 c) Make It Bongga: The last “B” whichmeans “festive”, caps the previousMIBs. To rectify by giving it your allis further enriched when it is donecheerfully. The festive atmosphere ofour service, work, and presence alsohelps others to feel understood andloved. In turn, they also carry out theirduties and obligations joyfully. As St.Josemaría wrote, “Holiness is not rigidlike cardboard; it knows how to smile, togive way to others and to hope. It is life -a supernatural life. (The Forge, no. 156)”

May summer be a wonderful andgraceful time, for young and not so

 you ng, to mak e it baw i, ban at and bonga!!

Is Duterte a blessing tothe Philippines?

Duc in altumAtty. Aurora A. Santiago 

Let the True People’s

Voice Win

THERE is a great chance that MayorRodrigo Duterte will win the presidency

in the May 9 elections. Judging fromthe number of those supporting andcheering for him, I would like to thinkthe actual presidential election becomesa mere formality before he gets crowned

 with the highest post in the land. WhyDuterte’s supporters continue to holdthe mayor in high esteem after all thehullabaloo involving him is beyondcomprehension. Rival candidates must

 be very envious of this guy because whilethey are adversely affected by issuesthrown at them, the mayor remainsunscathed with all the brickbats hurledat him. He remains popular and themore his supporters rally behind him

 when they sense that he is harassed andpersecuted.

This foul-mouthed guy must be

 very blessed because no amount ofissues seems to pull him down orprevent him from nally claiming thepresidency. Never mind the cursing,and the disrespect for women andpersons with disabilities; never mindhis disregard for our country’s allies;never mind his being a womanizer;never mind his killing people, they area menace to society anyway; never mindthe West Philippine Sea, the Chinese

 will build railways in Mindanao anyway;never mind if he hides from us his trueassets or net worth, it’s his anyway;never mind his decision to close bothhouses of Congress if threatened withimpeachment; never mind even if hedoesn’t have a sound economic planfor the country. Who cares about these

issues, it’s Duterte anyway!

 While most candidates took pains topresent their platforms, Duterte would

regale his listeners with raunchy jokesand controversial heroic tales andanecdotes. Surprisingly, even the moreeducated ones could not contain theiramusement and appreciation whilelistening to him. Much to the chagrinof those who uphold and believe indecency and ethics in public office,Duterte’s audacious claims and bravadoare winning lots of believers. For them,this man is brave enough and has thepolitical will to go after the bad guysand weed out corruption and criminalityin three to six months. Such incredibleclaim has since been replaced by sayingthat he will simply curtail and not totallyput an end to crime and corruption.

Even his self-deprecating claimsendeared him even further to the

majority of Filipinos. To his supporters,these claims mean he is just “beingtrue”, after all. There is no pretense inhim, what you see is what you get, asthey often say. Until after Sen. Trillanesdropped the bombshell with claims thatthe Mayor has funds undeclared in hisStatement of Assets Liabilities and Net

 worth (SALN). The mayor ip-oppedon the issue but has since admittedthat he indeed owns the account withhis daughter Sara. A former SupremeCourt Chief Justice, who has since died,lost his job because of the same case.This is not a minor issue. It is an issuethat involves honesty and integrityof public ocials whose oce enjoyspublic trust. I may be wrong on this, butI strongly believe that this issue should

 be enough to undermine and unmask

the Duterte mystique.He often brags about the number of

persons he killed as well as the numberof girlfriends he has. He also has noqualms cursing to the point of beingcallous, but he certainly has no b_ _ _skeeping his SALN truthful. Clearly, hedeceived the government, the peopleand the nation.

Duterte fanatics will surely frown onthis. They will argue, I think, that thereare no millions in the account as alleged

 by Trillanes. They will call the Senatora liar, a fraud, and a rouge element,

 but the Senator has already proven onething, whatever the amount is, it is notreected in Duterte’s SALN.

Few months back, Duterte has sethimself apart from the other presidentialcandidates. While his rivals are guardedand prudent in pronouncing their

platforms for the nation, Duterteoffered non-political solutions that

 were practical and populist in scope andstrategy. While the other four were notprone to talk about their personal lives,Duterte was more open and hungry forattention. He presented himself as no-nonsense and courageous in ghtingcriminality and corruption while hisrivals were very calculating to the pointof being predictable or inutile.

 Ye s, Du te rt e re ma in s a st ro ngcandidate. Many see him as a blessingcapable of lifting our country up fromher miserable condition, but he isdenitely not a savior. With the manyissues he was embroiled in, he may well

 be considered an abomination and justlike Binay, simply a “political anomaly”

in these forthcoming elections.

Elections as

trials of faith

THE eorts of the Church inthe Philippines, particularlythrough the CBCP, to be a

principle of unity (read: in non-partisan political engagement,if I may use the phrase) and,at the same time, to providemoral-spiritual guidelinesto the Filipino faithful in theface of the upcoming May 9,2016 polls remind me of theParable of the Sower. TheChurch sows the seeds (i.e.,the Word as applied to thepresent circumstances). Butthere are so many kinds ofsoil, majority of which doesnot seem friendly (as in theparable). The only dierenceis that it is so dicult to tellif even the “good soil” wouldoutperform the unfriendly

ones, so as to bear fruit “ahundredfold” in the electionof what may be perceived

 by believers as the “fit ting

choices” among national andlocal candidates.

 Wh il e in th e pr ev io us

elections violence was morepronounced in the actualand attempted politicalassassinations carried out

 be tw een ri va l po l it ica lgroupings, now violenceis extended to the verbaldiscourse in the mass andsocial media, to the debatesand campaign sloganeering,to the pre-election surveyr e s u l t s a n a l y s e s a n dexposés. Information is sohard to distinguish fromd i s i n f o r m a t i o n , t r u t hfrom fabrication, anti-criminality politicking fromcriminal bullying, whetherin cyberspace or in the

marketplace.The Church stands in the

middle of it all. She is doing what she can to mainta in

the balance between faithand reason, between theprinciples of democracy and

those of morality. She hopesfor the maturity of the Filipinofaithful to prevail over juvenileinter-party quarrels andnarrow-minded perceptionof what ails the nation andthe kind of leadership that willlead us to solutions, not falseexpectations. But her eyes alsoreveal undisguised anxiety.

The level of cynicism anddistrust among so manyFilipinos in the presentpolitical system and thosethat represent it seemstoo loud to be ignored. Itis palpable not only in theordinary conversations andmedia-facilitated exchanges

of viewpoints and standpoints but also in survey results asdissected by sober analyses.Far too many of the poor have

far too little share of the so-called “development pie”. Somany of the so-called “middle

class” and “upper crust” eliteare so dissatisfied with theseemingly “ironclad” impunityof criminals, uncheckedgovernment corruption andinefficiency, breakdown inthe mass transport and tracsystems that they are nowready to make drastic ratherthan right choices.

The personality cult inPhilippine politics also furtherobscures the already shortmemory our people have intheir collective sense, if atall, of history. The Churchrealizes this, too. But whileshe decries the amnesia ofpast ills, she also sees how

much the nation needs asense of mutual forgivenessand reconciliation among its

By the Roadside / A7

Fr. Eutiquio ‘Euly’ Belizar, Jr. SThD 

By the Roadside

8/17/2019 CBCP Monitor Vol. 20 No. 15

6/20

A6 CBCP MonitorMay 2 - 15, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 15

 A RANKING Church ocial called onCatholic voters “not to be mesmerized”

 by promises of “change” by candidatesseeking the country’s top post.

Cardinal Orlando Quevedo said whatthe country needs is a “radical” and“profound” change in mind, behavior,and values.

“Sadly, a candidate who promiseschange could have the same values and

 beha vior that requ ire chan ge,” saidQuevedo, the Archbishop of Cotabato.

Faithful to JesusHe called on Catholic voters to apply

their moral and religious values whenthey cast their ballot for the local andnational elections on Monday next week.

“Do not be mesmerized by surveysand claims of change by any means.Follow the road of the Christian disciple,

faithful to the Lord Jesus and to theteachings of his Church,” said Quevedo.

“Help heal our political culture. Place your choices in the hands of Mary, Our

Mother and Intercessor, our Guide onthe journey to national renewal,” he said.

The cardinal the made the statementin a circular on the 2016 electionsaddressed to Catholics in his archdiocese.

The circular also contained atguidelines for voters who treasureconscience as “God-given.”

 Wanted: pro-life candidatesHe urged voters to support candidates

 who have an option for the poor andthose with moral integrity or someone“that is not tainted by corruption,unexplained wealth, and properties, andenrichment in oce.”

The prelate also said bets who respectand defend the right life, especially ofthe unborn and demonstrate respect forand delity to his or her faith deserve the

 votes of the Catholics.

In the context of central and southernMindanao, he urged voters to choosethose who will work for a just and lastingpeace.

“Select a candidate who will be a justpeacemaker,” he added.

The cardinal also underscored theimportance of competence of candidateto govern 100 million Filipinos and leadthem to a better life.

“Study the track record of thecandidate,” he said. “Select a candidate

 who does not aspire to be the messiah but is humble as well as respectful ofothers’ freedom and competencies.”(Roy Lagarde / CBCPNews)

FEATURES

Transparent, and Honest”for the May 9 elections.

To do so, the church leaderurged the presidential andsenatorial candidates presentto evaluate what the realneeds of the people are.

Over the next six years,he urged the country’s nextleaders to do everything intheir power to live up to thoseresponsibilities, building

 better and safer communitiesin the country.

 According to him, assessingthe needs of people refersto what will be good formajority of Filipinos, and not

 just their allies.“The candidates also need

to study. Study what arethe real needs of the peoplethat voted for him. That willgo beyond party politics

 be ca us e we ar e al re ad ytalk ing about commongood,” said Tagle.

 At least two presidentialand 17 senate bets attendedthe signing of the covenantfor clean polls.

Of the five candidatesfor president, only Vice

President Jejomar Binay

and administration bet MarRoxas were present duringthe event held with only a

 week before the elections.No v ice- pres ident ial

candidates attended theevent, although Liberal Party

 be t Le ni Robr ed o se nt arepresentative.

S e n a t o r i a l a s p i r a n t spres ent inc luded Rep.Martin Romualdez, Rep.Roman Romulo, Sen TitoSotto, Susan Ople, among

others.“We would have preferred

their physical presenceas this would show theirsolidarity with the moralposition of the Church forthis coming election,” saidRadio Veritas president Fr.

 Anton Pascual.H e r e v e a l e d a l l 6 6

candidates had been senti n v i t a t i o n s , b u t m a n y

 we re un av ai la bl e du e totheir scheduled campaignsorties.

“Basically, in spirit, those who are not here also supportthis TRUTH Covenant ofthe Church,” said Pascual.

(CBCPNews)

Accountability / A1

this for our country, consecrated to theImmaculate Conception, so that we mayelect leaders after the Good Shepherd’sheart, her Son’s heart.”

For Filipino – Chinese youth JanRichmond Tieng, the importance ofprayer in the electoral process cannot

 be stressed enough.

“We ought to pray. We ought to prayrst. We ought to pray more,” said the29-year old Parish Pastoral Councilassistant secretary of the NationalShrine of St. Jude Thaddeus in Manila.

“Before anything and everything, weought to pray first, and to continuallypray. Prayer is about seeking God’s graceto strengthen our conscience, to grant usthe means to discern well our choice ofcandidates, to exercise utmost prudencein our dealings with other people, onlineor face to face,” stressed Tieng.

Rosary for pollsThe call by the head of the bishops’

conference seems to be a mere echoof already existing sentiments amongthe faithful as seen through a 3rd year

 Ateneo de Manila law student ‘s own

rosary campaign for the May 2016 polls,organized two days earlier than CBCPpresident Archbishop Socrates Villegas’message.

Leia Go admitted it was the possibilityof a Duterte – Marcos administrationthat pushed her to organize the RosaryCrusade for 2016 Elections over the

popular social networking site Facebook.“… I am concerned about the

possible return to the brutality ofMartial law. We have had talks inschool about the tortures suffered byactivists and many innocent people.

 We ca nno t le t that happen ag ai n.Campaigning isn’t enough. WithoutGod, we are powerless to do anythinggood,” said the 27-year old, who isstudying to be a lawyer, specializingin a human rights.

‘Singular grace’She also drew the connection between

the role of the rosary in saving thecountry from the Marcos dictatorship.

Go explained: “People have beendismissing the human right abuses

of Martial Law. Mama Mary even

intervened 30 years ago. The EDSArevolution inspired somewhat peacefulrevolutions around the world. Aren’tthese enough proof that the sueringof the country under Martial Law wasreal? That a return to democracy wasGod’s will?”

“Mama Mary saved us before she can

do it again … I hope that praying therosary and relying on God and MamaMary, our country will spared fromfurther human rights abuses,” she said.

In a message issued earlier thismonth, Villegas asked the faithful to“…pray all the mysteries of joy, light,sorrow and glory every day until May 9.”

He said: “Pray as a family. Pray whil e travell ing. Pray in the offi cesor factories. Pray everywhere for ournational elections.”

The prelate also quoted the Venetiansenators saying after what is said to bethe most crucial naval clash in history,the Battle of Lepanto of 1571: “It wasnot courage, not arms, not leaders

 but Mar y of the Ros ary that mad eus victorious.”  (Nirva’ana Ella

 Delacruz / CBCPNews)

Youth / A1

provision of replacement ballots, which according toher, could possibly trigger a

 ballot shortage if there will be higher voter turnout thanpast elections.

She expressed concern thatthe eect of the last-minutechanges will be shouldered

 by th e Bo ard of Elec ti onInspectors (BEIs).

“ T h e s e c h a n g e s a r e

confusing for people on theground,” explained De Villa.

She lamented that even thepreparations of the PPCRV arealso aected by the last-minuteadjustments since they have totrain their volunteers yet again.

“Even poll watchers, evenif we want to train themproperly, we cannot since wechanged [the process] severaltimes,” said De Villa.

The citizens’ arm of theComelec also lashed out at theseeming lack of transparencyin the deployment of the votecounting machines (VCMs) andother election paraphernalia.

Lacking informationDe Villa said they were

expecting to be informed whenthe VCMs will be dispatchedfrom their warehouse, theirexpected schedule of arrivalat their destinations, and at

 which specic warehouses.“How can we be sure if there

 were no interventions whenthey did not give us thoseinformation?” she asked.

On Tuesday, the PPCRVunveiled its command center

for the 2016 polls at the PiusXII Catholic Center in Manila

 where its unocial parallelcount will be conducted.

 Among the new serv icesPPCRV will be providing isthe launch of a precinct nderfrom its website to help voterslocate their precincts.

 An a Sings on, PP CR VCommunications Director,said they requested theneeded data from the Comelec

 whose website was defaced byhackers last month.

De Villa also revealedthey are deploy ing anestimated 700,000 PPCRV

 vol unt eer s nat ion wid e on

election day. (R. Lagarde/CBCPNews)

PPCRV / A1

farmers were demanding15,000 sacks of rice; whilein Bukidnon, 5,000 farmers

 were demanding 4,200 sacksor 1 sack for each family; inKoronadal, South Cotabato,the 3,000 farmers aredemanding 15,000 sacks;in Sultan Kudarat and

Saranggani, the demandsare also 15,000 sacks, whilein General Santos City,8,000 sacks. There are 2,000farmers in Cagayan De OroCity, Misamis Oriental alsodemanding food aid whilehundreds protested in Davao

City and Pagadian City,Zamboanga Del Sur.

Meanwhile in Cagayan Valley, about 3,000 farmersprotested marking the April 22Earth Day by demanding relieffrom the eects of the drought.In Negros, farm workers aredemanding government aid

as they are facing “tiempomuerto” or the dead season orthe non-existence of sourcesof livelihood as the lands aremonocropped with sugarcane.The dead season in Negros isestimated to aect 5 millionfarmers.

BulldozedIn Quezon City, farmers

aect by the MRT 7 projectin San Jose Del MonteCity, Bulacan protestednear Aquino Times Streetresidence as it is bulldozingtheir crops that are theironly sources of livelihood.

In Hacienda Luisita, farm workers also condemned therecent bulldozing of theircrops by the Cojuangco-

 Aquino family.“Farmers protesting by the

tens of thousands is seriousand their legitimate demands

should not be belittled,”stressed Añover.

I n r e s p o n s e t o t h eKidapawan atrocity, thereligious women and menof RMP launched a reliefmission to gather supportfor the farmers in Mindanaoand other regions aected by

drought.RMP urged the religious

community to ask the samequestion while concretelytaking steps to alleviatethe poverty and hunger theagricultural sector is nowconfronting. (CBCPNews)

Inaction / A1

Quevedo warns votersabout promises of ‘change’

Cardinal Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato MELO ACUÑA

Reject bets backing death penalty, voters urged  AN official of the Catholic bi sh ops’ pr is on mi ni stryhas warned voters againstelecting candidates pushingfor the return of deathpenalty.

R o d o l f o D i a m a n t e ,execut ive s ecretary ofthe CBCP’s Commissionon Prison Pastoral Care,said capital punishment is

opposed to the Church moralteachings on vital issues.

“ W e a r e a g a i n s t i t .Everybody deserves a second

chance in life,” Diamantesaid.

Death penalty, he said, isone issue that will inuencethe voting of prison welfareadvocates and volunteersnationwide.

Reiterating that deathpenalty is not a deterrent tocrime, he said the country’snext leaders must avoid using

it as a “quick-x” option.Instead of reviving for

death penalty, he askedcandidates to ins tead

advocate for measures andprograms for the welfareof convicted prisoners anddetainees awaiting trial.

S i n c e o n l y d e t a i n e dprisoners are allowed to vote,Diamante asked them tosupport those who will beattending to their needs.

“From facilitating theircases and trials to pushing

rehabilitation programs,these are among the issuesthat need attention,” saidDiamante.

He said there will bearound 64,000 detentionprisoners or half of thecountry’s estimated 101,000detainees who registeredand will be casting their

 ballots dur ing the May 9elections.

This is the third time thatCommission on Elections(Comelec) will be allowing

detainees to vote for nationalpositions. The first was in2010 and then in 2013.(CBCPNews)

Workers call for higherwages in pre-poll rally 

CLOSE to a thousand peoplein support of the clamor forhigher wages for workersgathered in a rally in Manila

 just days before the electionson May 9.

On the 114th celebrationo f L a b o r D a y , t h emobilization made its wayfrom the Mendiola Arch tothe Manila Post Office withseveral more groups joiningalong the way.

It’s been 26 years since Istarted joining Labor Daycelebrations, every yeartogether with my fellow

 workers, we voice out ourright to sufficient wagesand enough benefits,” saidFernando Gamboa, one ofthe participants, in Filipino.

“We, as citizens believe thatour minimum wage is notenough to feed and support

our families,” he added.M a y 1 h a s b e c o m e

synonymous to workers’rallies where they are able to

express their concerns in anannual show of force.

“I have been joining for 30 years now. We continuouslyfight for the rights of the

 wo rk er s, es pe ci al ly th e

insufficient amount of our wages, ” said Ruffo Galer a,another participant.

 Albert Pargan, a rst timeparticipant attended withthe belief and hope that they

 will be heard if they continuetheir eorts.

“I want change, no morecorruption. I believe there is achance for progress,” he said.

“Before, workers foughtthe 12-hour work scheduleand demanded 8 hours, nowit’s 8 hours. Now we ght forsucient and just wages forevery worker,” said Gamboain Filipino.

“ T h e r e a r e p o s i t i v e

changes, it may be slow, bu t we ar e sl ow ly be in gheard,” he added. (Chrixy Paguirigan / CBCPNews)

Close to a thousand people in support of the clamor for higher wages for workersgathered in a rally in Mendiola, Manila just days before the elections on May 9.ANA PERUCHO

to use their individual conscience in voting. And by this Pastoral Letter, itdoes something more—it places Godin the heart of the electoral process