Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines Filipino: Kapulungan ng mga Katólikong Obispo ng

Pilipinas; Cebuano: Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; Hiligaynon: Komperensya sang mga Obispo nga Katoliko
sang Pilipinas; Ilokano: Kumperensya ti Obispo nga Katoliko ti Filipinas), abbreviated as CBCP, is the permanent organizational
assembly of bishops of the Philippines exercising together certain pastoral offices for the Christian faithful of their territory through
apostolic plans, programs and projects suited to the circumstances of time and place in accordance with law for the promotion of the
greater good offered by the Church to all people.

Standing as the national episcopal conference in the Philippines, it consists all diocesan bishops and those equivalent to bishops in
church law; all coadjutor and auxiliary bishops; and all other titular bishops who exercise for the entire nation a special office
assigned to them by the Apostolic See. It has 82 active and 43 honorary bishops and other members. The chancery is centrally
located within the Intramuros district, located just behind the Manila Cathedral.

The Church and the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages were a period in Europe dating from the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, around the 5th century.
However, the fixing of dates for the beginning and end of the Middle Ages is arbitrary. According to the Norton Anthology, "Medieval
social theory held that society was made up of three 'estates': the nobility, composed of a small hereditary aristocracy,...,the church,
whose duty was to look after the spiritual welfare of that body, and everyone else..."( Norton 76). 

According to Microsoft Encarta, "No one definitive event marks the end of antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. By the
end of the 5th century the culmination of several long-term trends, including a severe economic dislocation and the invasions and
settlement of Germanic peoples within the borders of the Western empire, had changed the face of Europe. For the next 300 years
western Europe remained essentially a primitive culture, albeit one uniquely superimposed on the complex, elaborate culture of the
Roman Empire, which was never entirely lost or forgotten in the Early Middle Ages"(Microsoft).

The only universal European institution was the church, and even there a fragmentation of authority was the rule; all the power
within the church hierarchy was in the hands of the local bishops. The church basically saw itself as the spiritual community of
Christian believers, in exile from God's kingdom, waiting in a hostile world for the day of deliverance. The most important members
of this community were found outside the hierarchy of the church government in the monasteries that dotted Europe

According to Microsoft Encarta, "The early Middle Ages drew to a close in the 10th century with the new migrations and invasions,
the coming of the Vikings, and the weakening of all forces of European unity and expansion" (Microsoft). These acts resulted in
violence and dislocation which caused isolation, population to diminish, and the monasteries again became outposts of civilization.

During the high Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church became organized into an elaborate hierarchy with the pope as the head
in western Europe. He establish supreme power. Many innovations took place in the creative arts during the high Middle Ages.
Literacy was no longer merely requirement among the clergy. New readings were addressed to a newly literate public that had both
the time and the knowledge to enjoy the work.

The late Middle Ages were characterized by conflict. Towns and cities began to grow in alarming numbers; the new towns wanted to
have their own self-control. They wanted to be free of outside leadership. One result of this struggle was the intensification of
political and social thinking.

In the late medieval period, there was a ugre for the direct experience with God, whether through private, interior ecstasy or mystical
illumination. Christ and the apostles presented an image of radical simplicity, and using the life of Christ as a model to be imitated,
individuals began to organized themselves into apostolic communities. There was a growing sense of religion and a need to be with
Christ and his followers.

During the Middle Ages, the Church was a major part of everyday life. The Church served to give people spiritual guidance and it
served as their government as well. Now, in the 20th century, the church's role has diminished. It no longer has the power that it
used to have. Television has become more powerful than the church. The church still plays an important role in my life. I attend
mass on every Sunday, and I uphold the morals and values that the Catholic church promotes today.

Christianity in the Philippines

Early Christian presence in the Malay archipelago and the Philippine Islands may be traced to Arab Christian traders from the
Arabian Peninsula. They had trade contacts with early Malayan Rajahs and Datos that had ruled these various Islands. Early
Arabians had heard the gospel from Peter the apostle at Jerusalem (Acts 2:11), as well as evangelized by Paul's ministry in Arabia
(Galatians 1:17) and also by the evangelistic ministry of St Thomas. Later, these Arab traders along with Persian Nestorians,
stopped by the Philippines on their way to Southern China for trade purposes. However no solid efforts were made to evangelize the
native population. With the spread of Islam in Arabia, much of the Christian heritage of Arabia had ended and the Arab travelers
focused more on spreading Islam to Mindanao, through which they transmitted the knowledge of Jesus as a prophet to the Moro
people.

In 1521, the Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan under the service of Spain came across the Philippines while
searching for the Spice Islands. Ferdinand Magellan and his men landed in Cebu Island in central Philippines.[5]

At this time period, almost nothing was known to the West of the Philippines and so information on most pre-Hispanic societies in
the islands date to the early period of Spanish contact. Most Philippine communities, with the exception of the Muslim sultanates
in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, were fairly small and lacking in complex centralised authority. This absence of centralised
power meant that a minority of Spanish explorers were able to convert larger numbers of indigenous peoples than attempting such
in larger, more organised, dominions such as the Indianised or Theravada Buddhist kingdoms in mainland Southeast Asia,
the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago.

With his arrival in Cebu on March 17, 1521, his first attempt was to colonise the islands and to Christianise its inhabitants. The story
goes that Magellan met with Rajah Humabon, ruler of the island of Cebu, who had an ill grandson. Magellan (or one of his men) was
able to cure or help the young boy, and in gratitude Humabon allowed himself, his chief consort Humamay, and 800 of his subjects
to be baptised en masse. In order to achieve this, Spain had three principal objectives in its policy towards the Philippines: the first
was to secure Spanish control and acquisition of a share in the spice trade; use the islands in developing contact
with Japan and China in order to further Christian missionaries’ efforts there; and lastly to spread their religion.[6]

After Magellan died, the Spanish later sent Miguel López de Legazpi. He arrived in Cebu from New Spain (now Mexico), where
Spain introduced Christianity and colonisation in the Philippines took place.[7] He then established the first Permanent Spanish
Settlement in Cebu in 1565. This settlement became the capital of the new Spanish colony, with Legazpi as its first governor. After
Magellan, Miguel López de Legazpi conquered the Islamised Kingdom of Maynila in 1570. The Spanish missionaries were able to
spread Christianity in Luzonand the Visayas but the diverse array of ethno-linguistic groups in the highland areas of Luzon avoided
Spanish annexation owing to their remote and difficult mountainous region. Sultanates in Mindanao retained the Islamic faith, which
had been present in the southern Philippines since some time between the 10th and 12th century, and had slowly spread north
throughout the archipelago, particularly in coastal areas.[5] This resistance to Western intrusion makes this story an important part
of the nationalist history of the Philippines. Many historians have claimed that the Philippines peacefully accepted Spanish rule; the
reality is that many insurgencies and rebellions continued on small scales in different places through the Hispanic colonial period.

TYPES OF VOCATIONS

Marriage: A married person lives a vow of faithful love to a spouse through the sacrament of marriage. Husbands and wives share a
self-giving, love-giving and life-giving relationship with their spouse, and are committed to helping their spouse grow to human and
Christian maturity. They seek to form a family home, and are together the first teachers of their children in Christian faith and values.
Married people may serve in their parish community or in the Church in a number of different ways.

Religious: A religious priest, brother or sister (nun) commits his or her life to sharing in the life and mission of their religious
community. Religious priests, brothers and sisters embrace the call to poverty, chastity and obedience, and nurture their call through
a life of celibacy, faith, prayer and service. Religious priests, brothers and sisters serve in areas such as education, health care,
parish, youth ministry, aged care, spirituality, pastoral ministry, social work, amongst the poor and as a contemplative, and many will
serve as missionaries in other cultures. Depending on the religious order, they may dress in 'normal' clothes or in a habit.

Single: A person called to single life comes to believe that remaining single is the true and right way to faithfully live his or her
baptismal call. Single men and women embrace the gift of celibacy while living alone, with a family or with others who are single.
They are able to devote time and energy in service of others, and may serve in their parish community or in the Church in a number
of different ways.