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 Vol. 14 No. 17
 August 16 - 29, 2010
Php 20.
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Illustration by Bladimer Usi
AFTER the Federal DrugAdministration recently ap-proved the new drug ella,which is being marketed asemergency contraception,numerous pro-life groupsreacted strongly to the move,claiming that the pill acts asan abortifacient.On Aug. 13, the FDA re-leased a statement announc-ing the approval of ella fordistribution in the UnitedStates, explaining that in June, an advisory committee“unanimously voted that the
Bishop urges SC to void Luisita deal
www.cbcponlineradio.com
Ugnayan
The News Supplement forCouples for Christ
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Transformationthrough values
 Voters’ education shouldcontinue even outsideelection time—LAIKO
ELECTION time maybe over but not voters’education on politics and good governance.At least for the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipi-nas, the lay implementing arm of the CBCPEpiscopal Commission on the Laity, voters’education should not only be limited during theelection season but a continuing process.Edgardo Tria Tirona, Laiko National Presi-
PPCRV backs SK abolition
THE Parish Pastoral Council for ResponsibleVoting supports the proponents of the abolitionof the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections,claiming it’s useless.PPCRV chairperson Henrietta de Villa saidshe agrees with the calls to scrap SK pollsbecause it only becomes “an entry for politicaldynasties to extend their role in the area.”“It’s not good and at an early age youngpeople are developing a mindset about politicson the basis of wrong values,” said De Villa.While they support for the scrapping of SK polls,
LAIKO / A6PPCRV / A6Luisita / A6Agriculture / A6Ella / A6
Benedict XVI remembersTaize community onbittersweet anniversary
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Fisherfolks / A6
CHURCH and government leaders joined hand s in promoting agricul-tural productivity through sustain-able agriculture while encouragingresponsible stewardship of naturalresources during a gathering offarmers in Malaybalay, Bukidnonrecently.Affirming the Church’s supportto the cause of farmers, Fr. EduGariguez said the Church backs“initiatives that increase agriculturalproductivity through sustainableagriculture.”Gariguez is the executive of the Na-tional Secretariat of Social Action, Jus-tice and Peace (NASSA) of the CatholicBishops Conference of the Philippines(CBCP).Cagayan de Oro Archbishop AntonioLedesma, one of the speakers duringthe assembly, provided the spiritualdimension of sustainable agricultureand climate change in a lecture titled“Stewards of God’s Gift for all Genera-tions.”Talking to participants composed offarmers, priests involved in social ac-tion, religious men and women, NGOleaders and government executives,Ledesma said “all projects should befor integral human development, needto be marked by solidarity and inter-generational justice.”Ledesma anchored his speech ontwo important Church documents,
rst, the Compendium on the Social
Doctrines of the Church released in2004 and Pope Benedict XVI’s Caritasin Veritate.
Church,gov’t backsustainableagriculture
Church warns of excommunication to active participants in abortion
Pro-life groups denounce new drug ella as abortifacient
application for ella provided
compelling data on efcacyand sufcient information on
safety for the proposed indica-tion of emergency contracep-tion.” Ella has been approvedfor distribution in Europesince May of this year.Although the drug is beingmarketed internationally as amorning after pill, the FDAstatement also noted that“women with known or sus-pected pregnancy and womenwho are breastfeeding should
 
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By Roy Lagarde
 
AN official of the Catholicbishops’ leadership askedthe Supreme Court (SC) tonullify the compromise agree-ment between the owners andfarmers of Hacienda LuisitaInc. (HLI).
 Not only that it’s “unfair,” ManilaAuxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo saidthe compromise deal totally violates theland reform law.Pabillo called on the high court toreject the controversial agreement andconsider it invalid for carrying stockdistribution option (SDO), a schemewhose legality is being questionedbefore the SC.“This is a matter of social justice andthe rights of farmers to own a land mustbe respected,” said Pabillo, chairman ofthe National Secretariat for Social Ac-tion of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferenceof the Philippines.The bishop said the Cojuangco-Aqui-no family should distribute the land to
the beneciaries instead of offering a
compromise.Pabillo along with farmers opposedto the deal attended the HLI case’s oralarguments before the SC on Aug. 18,
the rst high-prole court drama of the
Aquino administration.The hearing zeroed in on the valid-
ity of the SDO deal that farmer bene
-ciaries entered into with HLI and theTarlac Development Co. in 1989. HLIlawyers argued that only the court canavoid the stock distribution option thatHLI forged with farmers.The Presidential Agrarian ReformCouncil (PARC) headed by formerPresident Gloria Macapagal-Arroyoordered the revocation of SDO in 2005,
which purportedly failed to fulll the
objectives of the agrarian reform lawof promoting social justice.The PARC also ordered the distri-bution of some 4,915 hectares of landcovered by the Comprehensive Agrar-ian Reform Program (CARP).In 2006, owners of Hacienda Luisitaelevated the case to the SC asking for atemporary restraining order and revoke
Justices listen to the oral arguments on the Hacienda Luisita Inc. land dispute at the Supreme Court in Manila August 18 as CBCP-Nassa Chair andManila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo (photo below) observes inside the SC chamber with a group of farmers opposed to the stock distributionoption (SDO) compromise.
A ROMAN Catholic prelatewarned the Catholics theyrisked excommunication fromthe Church if they assisted inabortion.The Church described abor-tion as a “mortal sin” and as amatter of policy, Canon lawyerArchbishop Oscar Cruz saidCatholics who contributed toabortions would be penalized.According to canon law, any-one who procures a completedabortion incurs an automatic ex-communication, meaning there
is no need for an ofcial decree
from church authorities.The archbishops said the pen-alty of excommunication as far asabortion is concerned is imposedupon all those who have been“actively involved” in makingthe abortion happen.“That is called active partici-pation… from the woman con-cerned, the husband who helpedher, the abortionist, or the nursesof any,” said Cruz.“Excommunication means thatthe person concerned is sepa-
rated from the spiritual benets
enjoyed by all members of theChurch. Furthermore, the sameperson could not take commu-nion,” he added.In the Catholic Church today,there are only two sins wherebythe penalty of excommunicationis involved. First, said Cruz, arefor those who are guilty of abor-tion and those who physicallyhurt the Pope.Women’s rights groups earliercalled for the partial legalizationof abortion in the country amidtheir claims that an estimatedhalf a million women resort tounsafe procedure every year.Melissa Upreti, legal adviserto the New York-based Centrefor Reproductive Rights, said thegovernment should amend thepenal code to legalize abortionwhen pregnancy threatens thelife of the mother.She said a woman must also begiven the right to abortion whenher pregnancy is a result of rapeor incest.Upreti also blamed the crimi-nalization of abortion for thehigh incidence of illegal and un-safe abortion in the PhilippinesCiting the report “ForsakenLives: The Harmful Impact ofthe Philippine Criminal Abor-tion Ban,” the group said unsafeabortion in the country hascaused about 560,000 inducedabortion in 2008.The report also claimed 1,000women died as many as 90,000were hospitalized for complica-tions due to unsafe abortions.But Marbel Bishop Dinu-aldo Gutierrez said abortionis a “crime” in the eyes of thechurch and there is no way theywill allow it.He said that one cannot re-spond to one tragedy with an-other tragedy. The bishop addedthat abortion is the wrong an-swer and should be avoided inevery way.“Abortion is murder. It killsdeliberately the fetus, a humanperson who has the inviolableright to live. Abortion is a moralsin,” he said.
(CBCPNews)
MILITANT fisherfolks underPambansang Lakas ng KilusangMamamalakaya sa Pilipinas (Pa-malakaya) is joining force withthe Roman Catholic Church inthe crusade against “Las Vegas-nization” of the Philippines.In a statement, Pamalakayanational chair, Fernando Hicap,had appealed to the 117 arch-bishops and bishops of the CBCP
to support the sherfolks and
other affected people in ManilaBay in opposing the proposedreclamation of a part of Manilabay to become a casino.“We ask our archbishops andbishops to join the Manila Baycoastal people in their legitimateand just struggle against evil forceswho want to make this nation thegambling capital of Asia to thedetriment of coastal people and thebay environment,” stated Hicap.The Pamalakaya leader saidhis group is planning to seek adialogue with CBCP anytime todiscuss the devastating impact
of the project to small sherfolk
and urban poor and its destruc-tive effect to the already fragileManila Bay environment.“We will move heaven andearth to put up a strong oppositionagainst this largest gambling proj-ect clinched during the adminis-tration of former President GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo and passed onto the new administration of Presi-dent Benigno Simeon “Noynoy”Aquino III,” vowed Hicap.
Fisherfolks to join Church vs. gambling
Cruz
 
A2
 Vol. 14 No. 17
August 16 - 29, 2010 
CBCP Monitor
Eighteen language-specifc Facebook pages help expand World Youth Day’s reach
 World News
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CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, August15, 2010—The destination of Mary as-sumed is a reality founded on the loveof God, taught the Pope on Sunday.The Christian promise of heaven, hesaid, brings great joy and encouragesbelievers to work for the constructionof the “world of God.”Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Massin the intimate atmosphere of the pon-
tical parish of St. Thomas of Villanova
for the Solemnity of the Assumption ofthe Blessed Virgin Mary in the town ofCastel Gandolfo. During the celebration,attended by parishioners and a selectfew military, civil and religious leaders,the Holy Father spoke of the destinationof Mary as she was taken from earth.He explained that in the Assumption,“we believe that Mary, as Christ herSon, defeated death and triumphs al-ready in the celestial glory in the totalityof her being, ‘in body and soul’.”Expanding on the idea of the “ce-lestial glory” to which Mary arrived,Pope Benedict noted that people todayare conscious that by “’heaven’ we arenot referring to just any place in theuniverse, to a star or something similar”but “to something much bigger and
more difcult to dene with our limited
human concepts.“With this term ‘heaven’,” he said,“we wish to assert that God, the Godmade close to us, does not abandon useven after death, but has a place for usROME, Italy, August 12, 2010—The Bishop Emeritus of HongKong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, saidthis week he hopes the situa-tion for Catholics in China willimprove despite the religious
freedom difculties that exist in
the country. He added that theMADRID, Spain, August 15,2010—World Youth Day (WYD)Madrid has opened four more
language-specic pages on Face
-book, bringing its total Facebookpages to 18. The pages were cre-ated thanks to young volunteerswho see the importance of hav-ing WYD information availablein their own language. Japanese, Vietnamese, Mal-tese and Croatian are the lat-est languages to have WYDoutposts on Facebook. WorldYouth Day Madrid organizerscredited the pages to “the de-termination and the excitementof the youth.”Tran The Vinh, one of the ad-ministrators of the Vietnamese-
language Facebook page, rst
suggested the creation of a pagein her language. She said shebelieves the page is importantbecause it overcomes “the ob-
Cardinal Zen hopeful situation inChina will improve for Catholics
VATICAN CITY, August 16, 2010—
Benedict XVI is afrming his personal
gratitude to the members of the Knights of
Columbus, and assuring them that delity
to God is the best response to “often unfairand unfounded” attacks on the Churchand its leaders.
The Pope made this afrmation through
his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Ber-tone, in a message sent to Carl Anderson,the leader of the men’s charitable organiza-tion. The Knights were gathered earlier thismonth in their 128th convention.The papal message offered particu-lar congratulations to Anderson, whomarked the 10th anniversary of his elec-tion as supreme knight.Referring to the Knights’ commitmentto the “Gospel imperative of love of neigh-
bor,” the letter afrmed the Holy Father’s
“gratitude for this great outpouring ofsolidarity and love, which represents anoutstanding witness to the charity of Christand the saving truth of the Gospel.”“His Holiness is personally grateful forthe generous support which the Knightshave given him in recent months, espe-cially through their constant prayers andparticularly in the Novena conducted on the
eve of the fth anniversary of his election,” the
message continued. “He remains deeply con-
soled by this testimony of delity to Christ’s
vicar amid the turbulence of the times, andhe asks that prayers continue to be offered upfor the unity of the Church, the spread of theGospel and the conversion of hearts.”
Priest supporters
The Pontiff also thanked the Knights for their“spiritual solidarity with the clergy” during theYear for Priests, which concluded in June.“Here too, your traditional spirit of faithand fraternity found ready expression in thedesire to stand, as your ‘brother’s keeper,’
alongside your priests and to conrm them
in their vocation to holiness and the generousservice of God’s People,” the message noted.“In the face of often unfair and unfoundedattacks on the Church and her leaders, HisHoliness is convinced that the most effective
response is a great delity to God’s word,
a more resolute pursuit of holiness, and anincreased commitment to charity in truth onthe part of all the faithful.“He asks the Knights to persevere in theirwitness of faith and charity, in the serene trust
Pope to Knights: respond to injustice with fdelity 
testimony of the faithful amidstwidespread repression is fun-damental for the future of theCatholic Church there.According to L’OsservatoreRomano, Cardinal Zen recentlyaccompanied a group of nineChinese Salesian sisters at PopeBenedict XVI’s general audienceat Castel Gandolfo. Regardingthe situation for Catholics inChina he said, “It is importantto follow the guidelines laid outby the Pope in this 2007 letter toCatholics in China,” which stillhas not been widely read due togovernment repression.The future of the Church inChina depends on the silentbut efficacious testimony ofCatholics in country, the cardinalcontinued.Referring to the Salesian sis-ters, Cardinal Zen said, “The factthat they live amidst the peopleand are committed to ordinarytasks gives particular weight totheir testimony.”
(UCAN)
Pope speaks of Christian promiseof eternal life in heaven
HUE, Vietnam, August 16, 2010—At least55 thousand faithful arrived in the dioceseof Hue over the last three days to attend thecelebrations of Our Lady of La Vang, thenational shrine. Many Catholics are hopingthat at the close this year, which will takeplace January 6, 2011 at La Vang, the popewill come to Vietnam.Yesterday, along with 55,000 faithful at-tended the Mass for the Assumption togetherwith some bishops and 120 priests from dif-ferent dioceses.The shrine of La Vang dates back to theeighteenth century. During the great perse-cution of the King Vietnamese against theCatholic Church (1798-1801), thousands ofChristians were killed for their faith. Sev-
eral of them ed into the jungle to La Vang,
then a small village in Quang Tri province.There Mary appeared to comfort them. Sincethen, what was once a small village becamehome to the sanctuary of Our Lady of LaVang, visited by millions of people, whetherCatholic or not.On 24 November 2009 the bishopslaunched the Jubilee Year of the Church ofVietnam, marking the 350th anniversary ofits birth and 50 years of the institution of theCatholic hierarchy. It will end its January 6,2011 in La Vang.After many decades of destruction anddecay, the government has finally givenpermission to restore the sanctuary, return-ing the land taken from the Church in thepast. Work will begin immediately after Jan. 6, 2010.By that date millions of pilgrims are ex-pected to have arrived from abroad. Manyalso hope for a visit by Benedict XVI.In 1999 John Paul II had hoped to visit LaVang, but the government in the end can-celled any possibility.
(AsiaNews)
Over 55,000 Vietnamese at feast of Our Lady of LaVang, waiting for the Pope
and gives us eternity…”He explained that in order to un-derstand this we can look to our ownlives and the way loved ones live onin our hearts after they die but only asa “shadow” because also this memoryis destined to expire with the death ofthose who conserve it.“God, on the other hand,” he taught,“does not ever pass and we all existin accordance with His love. We existbecause he loves us, because he hasthought of us and he called us to life.We exist in the thoughts and in the loveof God. We exist in all of our reality, notonly in our ‘shadow’.”The serenity, hope and peace of manis founded on God’s thought and love,Benedict XVI explained, “he does notsurvive just in a ‘shadow’ of ourselves,but in Him, in His creative love, we areprotected and introduced with all ourlife, with our being in eternity.”“It is His love that defeats death andgives us eternity, and it is this love thatwe call ‘heaven’ ...”This is a truth, concluded the Pope,
“that should always ll us with pro
-found joy:” the Christian promise ofeternal life in heaven, “not just anysalvation of the soul in an imprecisebeyond.”This gives Christians “a strong hopein a bright future and opens the waytowards the realization of this future,”he added.
(CNA)
that, as the Church embraces this period of
purication, her light will come to shine all
the more brightly before men and womenof fair mind and good will.”The papal message further lauded theKnights for efforts to “uphold the reason-ableness of the Church’s moral teachingand its importance for a sound, just andenduring social order.”As well, he praised their “witness tothe sanctity of human life and the au-thentic nature of marriage,” and laudedthe Knights’ efforts to “promote in theCatholic laity a greater consciousness ofthe need to overcome every separationbetween the faith we profess and thedaily decisions which shape our livesas individuals and the life of society asa whole.”At the convention, the Knights madeeight resolutions, including efforts tobuild a culture of life, to be in solidaritywith Benedict XVI, to support the insti-tution of marriage, and to honor MotherTeresa of Calcutta on the 100th anniver-sary of her birth.The 2011 convention will be held nextAugust in Denver, Colorado.
(Zenit)
stacle of speaking in a languageother than your own.”Vinh, a 23-year-old architec-ture student, spends three to
ve hours daily administrating
WYD’s profile, with the helpof other administrators. Sheanswers questions from pagesubscribers, translates informa-tion coming from Spain andpromotes WYD.Viktorija, an education stu-dent at the University of Zagreb,is one of the four administratorsof the Croatian WYD page. Shesaid the WYD Facebook pageserves as a place where youthcan resolve their doubts orreunite and share their experi-ences.A participant in previousWYD gatherings at Cologneand Sydney, Viktorija said herattendance at WYD Madrid willbe “special” because it will mark
the rst time she will participate
as a volunteer.Ai Hongo, the 44-year-oldadministrator of the JapaneseFacebook page, described herselfas “young at heart.” In her view,videos are the best way to pro-mote WYD because “they showin the best possible way what aday in WYD is like.”The administrator of the Mal-tese WYD Facebook page isMariam de Giorgio. She said shefelt that the Madrid event will be“one of the most unforgettableWYDs ever,” in part becauseshe will have the opportunityto meet in person the variousfriends she has made throughsocial networks.According to WYD Madrid,
Spanish was the rst language
to have a WYD Facebook page,followed by English, French andChinese.
(CNA)
 
A3
 Vol. 14 No. 17
August 16 - 29, 2010 
CBCP Monitor
News Features
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VATICAN City, August 11,2010—Pope Benedict has joinedhimself in prayer with the Taizecommunity as the anniversaryof the death of their founder,Brother Roger, and the milestoneof the community’s 70th year,approach. The Pope called thefounder “a pioneer” in buildingthe unity of Christians.Brother Roger founded thenow famous community inTaize, France on Aug. 20, 1940to assist refugees of World WarII, counting on the aid of friendsand his sister. They devotedthemselves to tending to allpeople in need, a charism thatmembers continue to carry out tothis day, nearly 70 years later.The coming anniversary willbe bittersweet for the community
as this month also marks the fth
anniversary of the murder of theirfounder, which took place on Aug.16, 2005 during evening prayer.The anniversary has led manyChristian leaders, includingPope Benedict, to send letters tothe community, communicatingtheir greetings, congratulationsand condolences.In a letter signed by CardinalSecretary of State Tarcisio Ber-tone, the Holy Father transmittedhis sentiments to the community’scurrent prior Brother Alois.The Pope said that he wishedto show his “spiritual closeness”and “union in prayer with thecommunity and with everyone”who is remembering BrotherRoger over these days.“A tireless witness to the gos-pel of peace and reconciliation,Brother Roger was a pioneer in
the difcult paths toward unity
among the disciples of Christ,”he recalled.Brother Roger’s communitycontinues to welcome thousandsof young people from across theglobe who seek meaning in theirlives, noted Cardinal Bertone, re-calling how they are welcomed inprayer and allowed to experience apersonal relationship with God.And, the letter continued,“although he has entered eternal joy, he still speaks to us,”“May his witness to an ecu-menism of holiness inspire usin our march towards unity, andmay your Community continueto live and to radiate his charism,especially towards the youngergenerations!”The community is unique inthat it welcomes any Christian,from Catholic, Protestant orOrthodox backgrounds amongits ranks. On its Taize.fr websitethe community describes itselfas “a ‘parable of community’that wants its life to be a sign ofreconciliation between dividedChristians and between sepa-rated peoples.”Concluding the letter to thecommunity, Cardinal Bertoneconferred the blessings of BenedictXVI on the Taize community andall who work with them in seekingthe unity of Christ’s disciples.The community will be cel-ebrating the double anniversaryon Aug. 14.
(CNA/EWTN News)
Benedict XVI remembers Taizecommunity on bittersweet anniversary
ROME, Italy, August 12, 2010—Speak-ing to the Italian magazine 30 Giorni (30Days), Dominican Fr. Charles Morerodsaid that Pope Benedict’s way of carry-ing out his ministry leads to his beingliked by the Orthodox Church. It is aquestion of his being similar in natureto the Orthodox bishops, he observed.Fr. Charles Morerod is the generalsecretary of the International Theologi-cal Commission and rector of the Pon-
tical University of St. Thomas Aqui
-nas, known as the Angelicum, as wellas a member of the joint commission fortheological dialogue with the Orthodox
Church for the last ve years.
His commentary on the Pope’s rela-tions with the Orthodox Church cameat end of an interview with 30 Giorni inwhich he spoke extensively about thepositions of the Orthodox and CatholicChurches as they approach the nextround of talks about the primacy ofRome in meetings this September.Asked if he had noticed that therewas a “particular sympathy and atten-tion” towards Pope Benedict XVI fromthe Orthodox Church, Fr. Morerod saidit is something he has seen as he visitswith representatives from differentOrthodox Churches.“They have a great esteem for him,maybe also because they see in him
a monastic type of gure, and all the
Orthodox bishops are monks.”Contrary to the common erroneousvision other Christian faiths have of thePope as “everything” to Catholics, Fr.Morerod said, actually, “if the Pope doesnot put himself forward, if he repeatsonly that which he has received, if he re-mains a little hidden behind his ministry,this on its own helps ecumenism.“A Pope who, in exercising his min-istry, puts ‘as little as possible’ of his(personal considerations) into it andconcentrates on the essential is destined
Benedict XVI’s monastic characteristicsmay be helping ties with Orthodox Church
 Vatican spokesman praises decision to
drop sex abuse lawsuit against Holy See
VATICAN City, August 10, 2010—Following the decision of a groupof plaintiffs in Kentucky to drop alawsuit against the Holy See, Vaticanspokesman Fr. Federico Lombardipraised the move, saying it was “goodnews” that the allegations were ulti-mately proven “unfounded.”On Tuesday, plaintiffs in thecase of O’Bryan vs. the Holy Seeabandoned their lawsuit against theVatican. Attorney William McMurryattempted to gain class-action statusfor the case involving three men whoclaim they were abused by priestsdecades ago. He also represented243 sex abuse victims who settledwith the Archdiocese of Louisvillein 2003 for $25.3 million.Attorneys for the plaintiffs at-
tempted to implicate Vatican of
-cials – and potentially even the Pope– in allegedly ignoring or coveringup the mishandling of clergy sex-abuse cases by American bishops.Lauding the abandonment of thelawsuit on Aug. 10, Vatican spokes-man Fr. Federico Lombardi toldreporters “it is good news that a casethat has lasted six years on the allegedish the Vatican’s condemnation ofsexual abuse or compassion for thevictims.“Justice for victims of sexualabuse and the protection of minorsremain our primary objective,” heexplained.Vatican Radio reported on Tues-day that lawyers for the plaintiffssaid earlier court rulings recogniz-ing the sovereign immunity of the
Holy See inuenced the outcome,
as well as the fact that most victimshave already sought compensationfrom their dioceses. Jeffrey Lena, the American lawyerfor the Holy See, said the droppingof the Kentucky case shows therehas never been a Vatican policy re-quiring concealment of child sexualabuse.Lena added that although thecase against the Holy See alwayslacked merit, it does not mean thatthe plaintiffs themselves did notsuffer as a result of sexual abuse.The attempted lawsuit, he said, onlyserved to distract from the importantgoal of protecting children fromharm.
(CNA/EWTN News)
‘Pro-life’ group slams call to legalize abortion
MANILA, August 11, 2010— An ofcial
of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferenceof the Philippines (CBCP) chided thecontinuing presence of governmenttroopers inside Hacienda Luisita inTarlac City.Father Edu Gariguez said the haci-enda is currently under tight securityas farmers demanding full land distri-bution continue to gain media mileageand public attention.“We went there (recently) and wesaw the presence of the military andmilitiamen inside Luisita. Soldiers andmilitiamen have a main camp there,”said Gariguez.He said the soldiers are present in atleast ten barangays inside the haciendaand built military camps.Gariguez believes that the presence ofthe military is not to protect the peoplebut of the interest of the powerfulCojuangco family who owns the 6,419-hectare property.
The CBCP ofcial said the hacienda
has long been militarized even duringthe term of former President Gloria Ar-royo but more soldiers were assignedthere lately.Nowadays, he said, the “expanded”military presence there has generatedfear to thousands of agricultural work-ers and their families.“Leaders of farmers’ organizationsare afraid because we know that inMANILA, August 10, 2010—A “litter-free” environment is not only good forthe health but a boost to tourism as well,an environmental group said.EcoWaste Coalition, a waste and pol-lution watchdog, has called on the De-partment of Tourism to implement anexisting environmental policy to cleanthe country of ubiquitous garbage.Aside from being health hazards, thegarbage in the metropolis and elsewherealso drive tourists away, the group said.In a letter sent to the Department ofTourism (DOT) the group asked DOTSecretary Alberto Lim to implement a cir-cular signed by former Secretary JosephAce Durano declaring “‘Zero TourismWaste as a goal and direction for sustain-able tourism and development.”“We trust that the implementation ofZero Waste in the tourism sector willbe a cornerstone of your strategy topreserve our rich cultural and naturalheritage that has been attracting domes-tic and foreign visitors,” wrote Roy Al-varez, EcoWaste Coalition president.Alvarez said the tourism industrywill get a boost if a litter-free environ-ment is adopted by the department.“Protecting our tourist attractions anddestinations from waste and other formsof environmental abuse and neglect iskey to any tourism development strategy
CBCP ofcial scoresmilitary presence insideHacienda Luisita
Hacienda Luisita, it’s not easy to be aleader of an organization or farmers’union,” said Gariguez.The priest was referring to the strikein 2004 that ended in violence and killedat least seven farmers near the gate ofthe sugar mill in what is known as Lu-isita massacre.Gariguez said they are planning a talkwith the Armed Forces of the Philip-pines through the Military Ordinariateof the Philippines headed by BishopLeopoldo Tumulak.“We would like to make an appealto the military not to side with the landowners but to instead give protection tothe people,” he said.
(CBCPNews)
that will bolster our competitive edgeover our Asian neighbours,” he said.Alvarez urged Lim to pursue the con-cept of “litter-free Pilipinas” and makeit a crusade of DOT during PresidentAquino’s administration.“Under your leadership, we expect theentire tourism industry to play a high-
prole role in instilling environmental
awareness and responsibility among allthe tourism stakeholders,” he said.Alvarez said both the tourism sector
and the environment will benet if a
crusade against littering will be imple-mented.The DOT circular states “tourismestablishments and facilities [that]
generate signicant volume of waste
can be considerably reduced to zero ifa policy on waste prevention, reduction,separation at source, recycling and com-posting is put in place and genuinelycarried out.”Likewise, the memorandum alsoseeks to promote the “education andtraining on ecological solid waste man-agement (ESWM) in the tourism sector;inclusion of ESWM as a basic require-ment for the accreditation of hotels andother tourism-related establishments;and the greening of tourists eventsand destinations.”
(Pinky Barrientos/ CBCPNews)
Implement policy on ZeroWaste, DOT told
to be liked more by the Orthodox,” theDominican priest commented.Relations with the Russian OrthodoxChurch are considered to have reacheda high point this year with MetropolitanHilarion Alfeyev’s visit to the Vaticanlast May. The metropolitan, PatriarchKirill’s “minister of the exterior,” bat-ted around the possibility at the timeof a landmark visit between the thePatriarch and the Pope.
(CNA/EWTN  News)
Fr. Federico LombardiPope Benedict XVIBrother Roger, Founder of Taize
involvement of the Holy See in conceal-ing abuse and which has also had strongnegative effects on public opinion, hasultimately been proven … unfounded.”Fr. Lombardi also said that theoutcome does not in any way dimin-
Fr. Edu Gariguez
MANILA, August 9, 2010— Alay advocacy group has comedown heavily on calls to legalizeabortions in the country, callingit “unacceptable” because it is acomplete abomination to safe-guarding human life.“Induced abortion is the de-liberate termination of the lifeof an innocent human being andtherefore, it is a crime,” the Pro-Life Philippines Foundation, Inc.said in a statement.Along with the Catholic hi-erarchy, the organization hasopenly lobbied lawmakers todrop any proposed legislationto legalize contraception.Pro-Life also vowed to opposeany move to legalize even elec-tive abortion for rape cases orwhen the fetus is deformed.New-York-based Center forReproductive Rights earlierpushed for legalized abortion inthe Philippines to stop the thou-sands of women who undergo“unsafe” and potentially fatalabortions each year.The so-called women’s rightsadvocates thought that there willbe certain liberal standards on thedelicate issues of abortions andnaturally the Church and other or-ganizations are upset about this.But the Pro-Life claimed thatthe legalization of abortion isnot necessary to accomplish thegovernment’s concern for poorwomen in crisis pregnancies.“If the government is seri-ous in its efforts to remedy thisdilemma, help should come inproviding counseling servicesespecially with abortion-mindedwomen, post-abortion mothersand fathers, education programs,maternal and child care services,economic and social develop-ment programs that would puta stop to rape, incest, sex outsideof marriage and other causes ofunwanted pregnancies,” it said.“All men and women need tobe educated on fetal development,the consequences of sex outsideof marriage, on human sexuality,fertility and love, respect and rela-tionships. Pregnant women needsupport and help, not abortion.We should be saving lives, nottaking them,” the group added.
(Roy Lagarde/CBCPNews)
Fr. Charles Morerod
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