COURSE LEARNING PACKETS Document Code FM-STL-014

Saint Louis University Revision No. 01

School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts Effectivity June 07, 2021
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CHURCH TEACHING
In the Philippines, the Indigenous Peoples (IP) are numbering about 10–15 percent
(11 –16.5 million) out of a total population of at least 110 million, belong to more than 110
ethno-linguistic groups. They are generally categorized as:

1. Cordillera Peoples – The IPs (commonly called Igorots) of the six provinces in the
Cordillera mountain ranges (Ifugao, Bontoc, Kankanaey, Kalinga, Ibaloy, Tingguian,
Isneg, Yapayao);

2. Aeta tribes scattered in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao known by different names
(Ata, Ayta, Agta, Ita, Ati, Dumagat, Remontado, Mamanwa)

3. Various tribes of North-Eastern, Central, and Southern Luzon, and some islands of
the Visayas (Ilongot, Mangyan, Tagbanua, Palaw’an, Batak, Ken-uy, Bukidnon,
Tumandok,) and; Mindanao Lumad – The major tribes found in almost all provinces of
Mindanao (Subanen, Manobo, Bagobo, B’laan, T’boli, Ubo, Higaonon, Talaandig,
Mandaya, Mansaka, Manguangan, Tiduray, Banwaon, Dibabawon, Tagakaolo).

At the start of the colonization of the Philippines in 1565, the term ‘indigenous’
would have been applicable to all the various cultural and linguistic groups who then
inhabited the more than 7,000 islands that make up the present national territory. But at
the beginning of the twentieth century and the start of the American regime, the
Indigenous people that are referred to are the ethnic groups of people who were never
fully subjugated and Christianized nor Islamized, and who kept their pre-conquest cultural
and religious traditions quite intact. Today, IPs still maintain a historical continuity with pre-
invasion societies that existed in their territories. They have their own social and cultural
characteristics distinct from the dominant culture, issues on indigenous peoples’ identity
and rights.
It is a fact that even today, the Indigenous peoples have no real representation in
the local, provincial, and national branches of government. Most IP communities do not
speak in one voice and the government hardly hears their grievances. Still, many
communities strive to continue their indigenous leadership and traditional political
structure. The state policy towards IPs has evolved from that of segregation, to
assimilation and integration, and currently to that of recognition and preservation. An
important factor for this shift in policy is the more than ten years involvement of the
Church and other support groups in the lobbying for a law to address the marginalization
of the indigenous peoples.
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On October 29, 1997, Republic Act No. 8371 A.K.A. the Indigenous Peoples Rights
Act (IPRA) was passed into law. IPRA is a landmark legislation in the history of IPs’ struggle
for recognition of their basic human rights and the right to self-determination. It promotes
the rights of IPs to their ancestral lands and domains, self-governance and
empowerment, the right to cultural integrity and their customary laws. It acknowledges
the right of the IPs to give consent to development interventions in their communities
through the process of Certification Precondition/ Free and Prior Informed Consent
(CP/FPIC). However, more than fifteen years after its approval, a number of political
factors still hamper its true implementation. The National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP), which has the noble task of implementing the law, must now undertake
the definition of the IPRA’s relationship with other existing laws and regulations which
impede the full implementation of the IPRA.
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CHURCH TEACHING
As far as the CICM Education Apostolate is concerned, Catechesis or Religious
Education is an essential part of the CICM missionary activity. Fr. Jan Van Bauwel, CICM,
wrote that Catechesis “was and remains to be an important concern of all CICM
missionaries in the Philippines, since their first arrival on November 2, 1907.” In fact, a
number of them excel as authors and trainers in the field of Catechesis.

Bishop Constant Jurgens, one

of the first nine CICM missionaries in
the country, wrote Katecismo ti
Doctrina Kristiana which was
published in 1916 by the Catholic
Mission Press, a printing press put up
by Rev. Fr. Joseph Schipman, CICM.
He also organized and financed the
Summer Institute for Catechists in
1934. In 1950, he was appointed by
the Catholic Bishops Conference of
the Philippines (CBCP) to lead the
committee composed of CICM
fathers to prepare a new inter- A CICM Missionary teaching the little ones
diocesan catechism. This very important
source for Catechetical and Religious Education was approved by the CBCP and was
printed in 1956.
In Tagudin, Ilocos Sur, CICM
missionaries trained many catechists who
helped in the Christianization of the
Cordillera provinces. In Manila, Fr. Joseph
Tahon, CICM, wrote The First Instruction of
Children and Beginners (Sheed and Ward,
1930). In Bauko, Mountain Province, Fr.
Gaston Declercq, CICM, wrote a pre-war
textbook for the training of catechists.

Fr. Constant Jurgens, CICM doing The education apostolate has

catechesis always been considered by the CICM as a
special means of accomplishing its mission. Education is a means of proclaiming the
Good News of Jesus and of forming Christian communities especially among the youth.
Hence, in almost every place where the CICM missionaries were assigned, a parish and
a mission school were established. In the Philippines, the exact number of schools that
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the CICM founded is not known, but it is safe to say that a school was built by the CICM
in almost all of the more than 200 CICM mission stations.

Most of these schools were turned over to the local parishes and dioceses. Six
educational institutions were retained by the CICM Philippine province because these
are considered strategically important to their new pastoral direction, especially in terms
of the evangelization of the youth and the development of the locality.

The six CICM schools in the

Philippines with the respective years
of their establishment are: (1) Saint
Louis University in Baguio City- 1911;
(2) Saint Mary’s University in
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya- 1928;
(3) Saint Louis College in San
Fernando City, La Union- 1964; (4)
University of Saint Louis in Tuguegarao
City, Cagayan- 1965; (5) Saint Louis
College in Mandaue City, Cebu-
1969; and (6) CICM- Maryhill School of
Theology in Quezon City- 1972. Early education in Bontoc, Mountain Province

Inspired by the historical commitment and dedication to provide Catholic

education, the CICM Philippine Province espouses a vision for its educational institutions.
It envisions an integral human formation of the youth who will become mature Christians
and active members of the Church. This integral human formation is directed towards a
Christian development of knowledge, skills and attitudes, which are geared towards
service in Church and society by witnessing to the values of God’s kingdom.

In order to realize this vision, the schools orient and direct their programs and
activities toward the promotion of human dignity and happiness, which lead to the
development of the total person who is able to take up his/her responsibilities in the
Church and the world. Having specific concepts of the person and the world as revealed
in the Judeo-Christian Tradition, the schools promote a special outlook regarding the self,
others, the material world, and God.

Every CICM-founded educational institution lives up to the missionary identity of

the CICM. Each member of the school community must become fully aware of his/her
responsibility to reach out to non-Christians and discover with them the impact of the
Gospel on social reality, justice, and solidarity. Likewise, he/she must be conscious of
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his/her responsibility to reach out to others as brothers and sisters and to establish fraternal
relations with them because, from a Christian perspective, there is only one Gospel, one
Lord, and one Father of all.

Inspired and compelled by the attitude of Jesus, CICM educational institutions

give special attention to the indigenous peoples, the oppressed, the disadvantaged and
the handicapped.

Towards the realization of this vision, the CICM - RP Province has the following
general educational objectives:

1. To form an educational community of administrators, faculty, students, personnel,

and parents who are conscious that their knowledge, skills, and attitudes should be
signs of the kingdom and that by this fact they realize their highest human dignity.
2. To give the educational community an adequate exposure to the Catholic faith, in
Catechesis as well as in liturgy and practice, to enable Catholics to grow in maturity
in faith, and to be inviting and open to non-Catholics and non-Christians through
sound ecumenism and mutual respect.
3. To animate the lay people in our institutions through the Church and CICM the vision
of education, promoting the teaching profession in whatever field, as a special
charismatic service to God’s people.
4. To reflect continually, in the light of Catholic faith, upon the growing treasures of
human knowledge and to transmit it through teaching, research, and various services
to our communities.
5. To be committed to the service of the people of God and human society in general:
to study contemporary problems such as the dignity of human life, promotion of
justice and peace, and a just sharing in the world’s resources.
6. To look for ways and means to give the same chances to the children of as many
disadvantaged families as possible.
7. To serve as a dynamic base for the CICM Institute by which it creates awareness for
the missionary task of the universal Church and engages in vocation animation.
8. To cooperate with the local Church, striving for a common vision, while respecting its
authority and that of the CICM orientation.
9. To integrate and promote the life-giving aspect of the cultural and moral values of
the people.
10. To strive in providing society academic excellence of international standards that
radiates the Christian life through relevant Religious Education which is an integral
component of the missionary activity of Catholic educational institutions and for
which CICM schools were originally founded.
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Aside from the education

apostolate of the CICM to the
Indigenous peoples, there were other
expressions by which the CICM have
displayed their love for Indigenous
groups. In one of the accounts of Fr.
Mike Seys, CICM, missionaries were
beloved, also for their work as medical
practitioners. They had received a
training in tropical medicine in Leuven
as a part of their initial formation. There
were simply no other doctors available
in remote parts of the highlands way
back in the 1970’s and the priests were A CICM Missionary caring for the sick
even addressed as “doctors”. During
his visits to the barangays, Fr. Mike always had
two strong boys with him who were carrying large boxes with medicines. Some of these
could be bought in the town of Lubuagan, but more could be found in Tuguegarao.
Common diseases to be treated, especially among children, included bronchitis,
measles, worms, malaria (UN-SDG 3).

Likewise, the CICM encounter with the Indigenous Peoples is not only one-way
traffic but they too learned from the Indigenous. To mention a few, here are narrations
coming from the Linguistics and Anthropologist in the CICM mission as follows:

1. When A. Botty, H. Ramaekers, CICM arrived from China in 1907, they are sent by
superior Peter Dierickx to Bontoc, together with Constant Jurgens and Jules Sépulchre,
for the sake of “counter-propaganda” against the many protestant groups and sects
there… According to Verhelst and Pycke, “the missionaries start right away studying the
language of the Igorots”. In this context too, the role played by CICM members in
livelihood operations, like the initially promising sericulture (silk-worm breeding),
introduced by Fr. Jurgens after a trip to Japan, but countered by the American
administration. (V&P, p.220).

2. [Fr.] Maurice Vanoverbergh, CICM (1885-1982), residing at Lubuagan until 1926,

later at Kabugao, from where he was also in charge of supervision in Apayao (V&P,
p. 226), was not only a botanist, but also an anthropologist and linguist: “He is especially
interested in the Negritos, Pygmy-descendants of the original inhabitants of the
Philippines. As a linguist, he published five dictionaries of native languages, and, as a
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botanist, gave his name to several orchids. [Fr.] Frans Lambrecht (1895-1978) evangelizes
the Ifugao tribes for seventeen years. He studies their language and traditions, and notes
down some of their epic sagas, the ‘Hudhud’.” (V&P, p. 230).

3. Fr. André De Bleeker, CICM, writes that Fr. Vanoverbergh first did not like to publish
any such thing as a book or dictionary, saying “Who among the CICM’s is ever
publishing books? That is not our custom!” However, he eventually gave in to go ahead
with the preparation of a book after discovering that a government-published
Kankanna-ey grammar by an American lady contained obvious errors.

4. Publishing a dictionary comes at a price: the author should not only be prepared
to spend endless hours collecting, describing and classifying words, he also faces the
threat of losing his data due to some adverse event, including fire, flood, earthquakes
etc. Fr. Maurice Vanoverbergh, CICM tells how he lost a part of his manuscript for the
Iloko grammar during repeated bombing raids by the American Air Force in Sabangan
in 1945. He could recuperate a part of his work, however, thanks to the fact that Fr. Remi
Schelstraete, CICM in Tagudin had typewritten a part of it, that had remained intact.
After returning from his second furlough in Belgium in 1966, Fr. Vanoverbergh was
encouraged by his confreres Fr. John Zwaenepoel, CICM and Fr. Henri Geeroms, CICM
to continue working at his Isneg dictionary, that was eventually published in 1972.

5. In Congo, as the Lingala language had spread over the central reach of the Zaïre
river as well as its hinterland, it became the language of communication of the army and
of the administration. CICM missionaries will also use it in other parts of Congo, in primary
education, religious instruction as well as for liturgy, greatly contributing to its spread and
use. This is believed to be among others the work of Egied De Boeck, CICM who became
Vicar Apostolic of Nouvelle-Anvers in 1921, after having published a Grammaire et
Vocabulaire du Lingala in 1904. Several editions would appear of the title, not to mention
other works in Lingala by the same author, mostly intended for education or religious
instruction. In 1891, during a visit to Belgium, F. Cambier already had published an Essai
sur la Langue Congolaise, referring to “the language of Ibôko of the Bamangalas, which
is understood by the people who live on the shores of the Congo stream, near and above
the equator.”

6. A problem that arose in China was that there was simply not enough to do for
missionaries, at least in a certain sense. This statement, made among others by the
Provincial Superior of Kan-su in 1907 while writing his report in view of the 1908 General
Chapter, illustrates the average difficulty of the missionary work in the Mongolian
provinces: “He writes that there are very few Christians in Kan-su and that it is extremely
difficult to come into contact with the non-Christians. The result is that the missionaries do
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not have enough work. This way almost everybody seems to go through a phase of
melancholy and discouragement after approximately ten years in the missions. The study
of the language could help the missionaries to overcome this crisis. The knowledge of the
Chinese language is indeed necessary to gain access to the circles of merchants and
literati in the towns.

According to the Episcopal Commission for Indigenous Peoples (ECIP), the Church
in the Philippines was challenged to respond to the plight of indigenous peoples in 1974
during an assembly of the Mindanao-Sulu Pastoral Conference. The felt need was for a
better understanding of the Muslim rebellion that has been a long-festering problem but
which was exacerbated by the invasion of foreign and local business establishments.
Later it was realized that the struggle for survival not only affected the Muslim
communities but also other indigenous (or lumad) communities.

Similarly, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), created an

office originally called the Sub-Commission on non-Christians as its pastoral arm in charge
of the IPs. In 1975 this office was elevated to a full-fledged Episcopal Commission on
Cultural Communities. The name was changed again to Episcopal Commission on Tribal
Filipinos in 1977 with full time secretariat, and finally to Episcopal Commission on
Indigenous Peoples in 1995. These changes manifest the conscious effort on the part of
the Church and of the larger society to avoid prejudiced terms that connote
underdevelopment and inferiority, and instead, to use a name depicting their uniqueness
as a people.

1. Dialogue of life, witness and presence, of action and collaboration for integral
human development with regards to those who do not wish to become Christians and
prefer to continue with their traditional religions, the “dialogue must be taken in the
ordinary sense of encounter, mutual understanding, respect, discovery of the seeds of
the Word in this religion, and the joint quest for God’s will” (cf. Dialogue and
Proclamation # 2). The process of inter-action that applies more appropriately with non-
Christian communities is the “dialogue of life and action” by which each side works
with one another to promote the total and integral development of human beings. It is
not easy to dialogue and to harmonize the culture of indigenous peoples with Christian
teaching. But authentic dialogue with any culture never necessarily harms the life of faith
but rather “they can stimulate the mind to a deeper and more accurate understanding
of the faith” (GS # 62) both of the Christian and of his non-Christian brother or sister.

2. Inculturation as an expression of our dialogue with IP faith communities. Dialogue

is somewhat different when dealing with Christian faith indigenous communities. With
them, the process is more in the nature of inculturation which is “the process of the
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Church’s insertion into peoples’ cultures. It is not a matter of purely external

adaptation, for inculturation means the intimate transformation of authentic cultural
values through their integration in Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various
human cultures” (Redemptories Missio, # 52). In their encounter with Christianity, the
indigenous peoples lose nothing of what is noble, true and good in their culture and their
values. The Christian faith welcomes and affirms all that is genuinely human, while
rejecting whatever is sinful. The process of inculturation engages the Gospel and culture
in “a dialogue which includes identifying what is and what is not of Christ”. (Post-
synodal Apostolic Exhortation: Ecclesia in Oceania, # 16)

In the context of Asia, the following excerpt elaborates on doing mission in Asia
among Indigenous Peoples:

The Indigenous/Tribal Peoples, being among the most marginalized, are priority
mission partners in Asia.

The Indigenous/Tribal Peoples consider themselves distinct from others. They are
non-dominant sectors in modern societies and are determined to preserve, develop and
transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the
basis of their continuous existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural
patterns, social institutions, and legal system. The Indigenous/Tribal Peoples of Asia face
a number of common struggles: sovereignty, the right to self-determination, preservation
of language and heritage, rights to land and natural resources, impacts from climate
change and environmental damage, and recognition within local, national, and
international governments and laws. In this context, serving the Indigenous/Tribal Peoples
is really carrying out Christ’s mission to the most vulnerable groups in the society. The
work of evangelization with the Indigenous/Tribal Peoples must be integral. The leaders
of the local churches of Asia – bishops, priests, religious, and lay people – must join hands
in the task of integral promotion of life for them. Acknowledging that God speaks to
indigenous peoples through their cultures, a new evangelization has to be sought at the
heart of these cultures through a profound encounter between their core values and the
values of God’s Reign. True inculturation occurs when an indigenous or tribal community
brings together, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel teaching and its own
cultural values. (an excerpt from the article entitled, “Doing Mission in Asia: Some Key
Considerations,” of Samuel Canilang, CMF., in Religious Life Asia 15, no. 3 (July-
September, 2013): 119.

The concern for the Indigenous Peoples is part of the Social Teaching of the
Church. John Paul II teaches that indigenous peoples have the right to continue to live
and develop as culturally distinct groups with primary responsibility for their own
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development and that they have a right to the things they need to achieve that
development. He urges them to remain open to other peoples and to offer their own
special contributions to the common good and he calls all peoples to reconciliation in
justice and solidarity.

For John Paul II, the rights of a people to exist and to maintain their cultural identity
are intimately linked. A people cannot exist as a people without their culture. Cultural
rights are collective by their nature because culture cannot be maintained by individuals
in isolation. Since everybody lives as part of some cultural group, ‘all human activity
takes place within a culture and interacts with culture. ‘This diversity within the human
family is part of God’s work of creation and so we must respect it. Every community with
its own culture reflects the image of God in a unique way. By suppressing an indigenous
culture, we cut ourselves off from a unique way of encountering God. All peoples are of
equal dignity because they are made up of human persons and all persons are of equal
dignity. It follows that all peoples have a right to uphold their own traditions: ‘The Church
extols the equal human dignity of all peoples and defends their right to uphold their own
cultural character with its distinct traditions and customs.

John Paul II also suggests that, as well as maintaining their own cultures, indigenous
peoples need to be open to and to dialogue with other cultures. Because no human
culture is perfect, all cultures need to be open to the transformative action of the Gospel,
which purifies every culture: ‘The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ speaks all languages. It
esteems and embraces all cultures. It supports them in everything human and, when
necessary, it purifies them. ‘And so, John Paul II encourages indigenous peoples to: ‘
Enter into communication with other cultures and wider circles, so that you may be
mutually enriched without losing your legitimate identity. Let yourselves be enlightened
by the Gospel which purifies and ennobles your traditions.