Live a life of truth, pope tells faithful

AMID the backdrop of unrelenting attacks on his person in the resurgence of sexual abuse scandals involving the clergy, Pope Benedict ushered in the Holy Week celebration with a solemn Mass at St. Peter’s Square, telling Christians to walk the path of Jesus, “towards the life according to the truth.”

The Holy Father said as Jesus walks he leads us to journey with him… “to the courage that does not let itself be intimidated by the gossip of dominant opinions; to the patience that stands up for and supports the other.”

Unjust accusations of cover-up and failure to administer sanctions to erring priests have been hurled at the pope in the light of sex abuse scandals in Europe and America.

Pope Benedict, on March 19 issued a pastoral letter to Irish Catholics, wherein he condemned strongly the abuse of children as “sinful and criminal.”

The pastoral letter came as a response to a detailed report of the study of an independent commission in Ireland documenting cases of sexual abuse committed by Church officials for years.

The pope did not mention the issue in his homily on Palm Sunday, which incidentally, was also the 25th anniversary of World Youth Day.

"Being Christian is a journey, or better: it is a pilgrimage, it is a going with Jesus Christ,” the pope said to the thousands of people, majority of whom were youth, at St. Peter’s Square.

The Holy Father reflected on the aspect of following Jesus Christ, which he said clearly expressed the theme of Palm Sunday celebration.

“He leads us to availability to the suffering, to the abandoned; to the loyalty that stands with the other even when the situation makes it difficult…to the goodness that does not let itself be disarmed not even by ingratitude. He leads us to love… to God,” the pope said.


Sex abuse scandal

In what some say an orchestrated agenda against the Church to bring it down and “discredit its moral authority”, media attack on the pope had been unrelentless since the sex scandal issue came out.

The sex abuse scandal came at the heels of a detailed report of the study of an independent commission in Ireland that documented cases of abuse committed by the clergy that spanned 60 years.

Also this month, news report came out about a German priest accused of molesting boys who worked in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which then Cardinal Ratzinger headed.

Another story of a Wisconsin priest who was also involved in a sex abuse scandal, but happened a long time ago likewise surfaced. The priest has long since died.

In defense of the pope

Some European and American prelates have defended the Holy Father against insinuations of Vatican “cover-up” of the issue, saying that the Church has not been negligent in “supporting and orienting the episcopates in combating and uprooting abuses wherever they manifest themselves."

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of Vatican Radio, said, "the directives for the correct handling and prevention of abuses have been reemphasized, updated and renewed in Germany, Austria, Australia, and Canada."

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols also stated the Church’s firm commitment to protect children from sexual abuse and weed out past offenders.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops also came out with a statement on March 18 defending the pope against the unjust accusations hurled at him.

Meanwhile, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan said Pope Benedict is suffering “some of the same unjust accusations, shouts of the mob, and scourging of the pillar, as did Jesus.”

No cover up

The Vatican has rejected claims that the pope covered up sex abuse by priests and praising him as a leader determined to combat scandals challenging the
Church.

In recent years, the pope has taken steps to combat such abuses by meeting and apologizing to victims.

Just very recently, the 83-year old pontiff said he was “truly sorry” for the church’s mishandling of widespread sexual abuse by priests in Ireland that surfaced years ago.

In what appears to be his first pastoral letter on the scandals, the pope said clergymen guilty of sex abuse should be held accountable for their crimes before “properly constituted tribunals.”

"Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God's mercy," he said.

In the letter Benedict XVI also harshly criticized the Irish Catholic bishops’ hierarchy in dealing with the allegations.

“You and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law for the crime of child abuse," he wrote.

Father Lombardi said impartial observers would recognize that the pope and the doctrinal congregation are continuing to guide bishops and help them "combat and root out the blight of abuse wherever it appears."

The pope's strongly worded letter to Irish Catholics earlier this month demonstrated his commitment to "healing, renewal and reparation" in the church, he said.


‘Cleanup’

Cardinal Walter Kasper, for his part, admitted that the Catholic leadership had on occasion maintained stillness over sex abuse cases.

The top Vatican official, however, defended the pontiff, saying Benedict XVI “was the first one who—already as a cardinal felt the need for new, harsher rules.”

Media attacks on the pope go "beyond any limit of justice and loyalty," Kasper told Corriere della Sera (Evening Courier), an Italian daily newspaper.

Kasper then urged for a cleanup within the church, adding that church officials must be more aggressive in dealing with sex abuse cases.

"We need a culture of attentiveness and courage, and a housecleaning," said Kasper, also a German.

The Vatican officials said the pope’s letter to the Ireland’s Catholic hierarchy alone is a strong indication that the church is not only equipped—it is an indication that the pontiff is willing.

Palm Sunday ushers in Holy Week observance

Today’s celebration of Palm Sunday ushers in the Catholic Church’s observance of the Holy Week that will culminate on Easter Sunday. The Palm Sunday (also sometimes called Passion Sunday) traditionally commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus in Jerusalem. Part of the liturgical celebration is the blessing of palms which, in some churches is done in a designated place outside the church. After the rite of blessing, the priest and other lay ministers process towards the Church followed by the faithful waving palm branches while singing hosannas or any appropriate hymns.

In the Philippines, some parishes even do elaborate celebration. At San Raphael Parish, where our community belongs, the traditional Palm Sunday procession before the first Mass in the morning include the parish priest riding a pony, followed by lay ministers and faithful singing appropriate songs for the occasion, while happily waving palm fronds. The procession will traverse several blocks of streets including the main road before it goes back to the church for the celebration of the Mass.

Filipinos have always been gregarious in their manifestation of the faith. Hence, one can’t imagine any liturgical celebration in the Philippines without singing, and depending if the bishop agrees, maybe a little dancing in some parts of the Mass.

This Holy Week we are all invited to ponder and profoundly reflect on the love of God for all of us and how we respond to that love.

Today’s liturgy shows that the people who sang hosanna to Jesus and welcomed him as their king, were the same people who will later ask for his neck—the very same people who will chillingly shout: “Crucify him!”

Though the Palm Sunday celebrates the glorious entry of our Lord Jesus into Jerusalem, it is also the start of his Passion which will culminate in his death on the cross on Good Friday. But his death ushers in the beginning of new life, his victory over sin and death. On Easter Sunday, he will rise again, and we will rise with him.

In his homily during Palm Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father said precisely this—new life in Christ.

He said that “as Jesus walked towards Jerusalem,” the heavenly city, “we too walk up towards heaven.” He leads us towards “what is great, pure, he leads us towards the healthy air of the heights: towards the life according to the truth; towards courage that does not let itself be intimidated by the chattering of the dominant opinions; towards the patience that supports and sustains others."

The pope also said that even as we walked with Jesus he also carries and sustains us when the going for us becomes rough and we cannot do it alone.

As we enter the rigorous observance of Holy Week, may this truth remain etched in our hearts: that even as he suffer carrying the cross he didn’t deserve, God will gladly take even ours so as to lighten our load. And that’s so, because he loves so much.

Anti-mining groups slam irregular consultation of mining companies

Environmental advocates representing indigenous peoples, farmers, women, youth and elderly from affected communities have denounced the public scoping consultation recently conducted by two mining companies in Palawan.

Amid accusation of bribery and collusion with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), anti-mining groups slammed the highly irregular joint public consultation by MacroAsia Corporation and Ipilan Nickel Corporation (INC) at Barangay Mambalot, Brooke’s Point, Palawan on March 13.

“This process relentlessly favors mining companies, which share the expenses in the conduct of a joint public consultation, limits the time for public scrutiny or inquiry for each proponent, breeds questionable stakeholders representation and has an irregular and confusing social acceptability standard procedure,” said Jaybee Garganera, national coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) is an advocacy group on environmental and human rights issues and people’s movement, composed of more than 80 organizations from mining-affected communities and civil society organizations nationwide.

“How DENR allowed this joint public consultation of MacroAsia and INC came no surprise to us knowing that this happened under the leadership of pro-mining longtime Mines and Geosciences Bureau director, now DENR chief Horacio Ramos, who is determined to fast-track all mining applications and process before the Arroyo Administration ends,” added Garganera.

Artiso Mandawa, National Coordinator of Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (ALDAW), said the joint consultation was an obvious attempt to fast track the issuance of the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to mining companies to fully operationalize their operations.

He said the joint consultation demonstrated irregularities that should not be taken lightly by authorities and stakeholders.

“Originally, people were informed that a separate public consultation of MacroAsia and INC will be facilitated. The mine projects of MacroAsia and INC are both located in Brooke’s Point and to a certain extent the proponents have the same affected areas such as Barangay Ipilan but this should not be the basis for the joint consultation,” said Mandawa.

Earlier, INC conducted a consultation with local government units but failed to get social acceptability from the barangays of Ipilan, Maasin, Mambalot and Calasaguen, Mandawa said.

The law provides that a mining company should allow an interval of one year before it can conduct another consultation with concerned stakeholders.

“We fear that INC is riding with MacroAsia’s consultation with the attempt to bypass this restriction with the help of DENR,” Mandawa said.

Meanwhile, those who attended the consultation were given P200 each as an incentive. Mambalot barangay captain Aderna Erlinda Edep, a pro-mining advocate admitted the mining companies did so to encourage attendance.

“It is really shameful how these mining companies manipulate our people with bribery. With the impacts of El Niño causing prices of food to rise, poor people easily succumbed to the Php 200.00 offer,” added Mandawa.

Palawan NGO Network Incorporated advocacy officer Beth Maclang said more than 3,000 people attended the joint public consultation.

“We fear that they will use this number to declare a successful consultation without taking into account the real stand of majority of people’s strong opposition to mining,” Maclang said.

But affected communities showed their strong opposition to the mining projects. Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC) legal officer Atty. Edward Lorenzo said mining companies have already consulted the people of Brooke’s Point three times and thrice they failed to get the people’s nod on the project.

The mining companies’ proposed area of operation falls in “core zone” area, inside the newly-declared Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL) where mining is not allowed.

Lorenzo said the law prohibits mining at Brooke’s Point because it will encroach on areas under maximum protection defined under the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan (Republic Act 7611).

“Ninety per cent (90%) of the mining operations are situated in ‘core zones’ – areas above 1,000 meters in elevation, virgin forests or primary growth forests, areas with steep gradient (above 50% slope), and critically threatened/endangered habitats and habitats of rare endangered species or habitats of Palawan local endemic species of flora and fauna,” added Lorenzo.

Fr. Joseph Cacacha, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, also criticized the joint consultation conducted by mining companies saying their strategy only showed they wanted to rush the process to their advantage.

“The term of known pro-mining Mayor Cesareo R. Benito Jr. is about to end and these mining companies fear that they will have a more difficult time to get the social license they need and/or LGU support in the next administration,” Cacacha said.

At least 2,000 anti-mining advocates from concerned barangays in Brooke’s Point have attended the public consultation spearheaded by ALDAW Network to discuss the issue.

ALDAW, an advocacy-campaign network of Indigenous Peoples jointly constituted by NATRIPAL (United Tribes of Palawan) and BANGSA PALAWAN PHILIPPINES (Indigenous Alliance for Equity and Wellbeing), held the consultation in cooperation with the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, PNNI, ELAC and other environmental groups.

Pro-Life observes ‘Day of the Unborn’ on March 25

IN an effort to promote a culture of life, love and peace as well as give voice to the voiceless aborted babies whose chance to life has been snuffed out prematurely because of abortion, ProLife Philippines Foundation, Inc. is commemorating a “Day of the Unborn” on March 25.

The annual event has been conceived by Pro-Life Philippines to create deeper awareness among the public of the evils of abortion and put a stop on the practice.

In a press release, ProLife said the activity is also a way expressing grief for the innocent aborted babies who never had the chance to see “the splendor of God’s creation,” and “never felt the warmth of their mother’s embrace and father’s protection.”

It also hopes the occasion would “serve as an awakening to those who view abortion as a way out of pregnancy instead of a blessing of a new life.”

On March 24, the eve of commemoration, a “Light a Candle for Life Ceremony” will be held at the Monument for the Unborn, in Plaza Miranda fronting Quiapo Church. The activity will begin after the 6 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of the Black Nazarene.

Earlier, Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, Chair of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, has issued a letter to dioceses all over the country to encourage their parishes to celebrate the Day of the Unborn on March 25.

Pro-Life Philippines urged the public to join the event and offer their prayers in memory of the babies who never had the choice to be born.

“The increasing rate of abortion today has become a path towards moral decadence and devastating psycho-spiritual effects on the lives of the aborted women, the men involved, and the abortion providers,” it further said.

Pro-life office provides access numbers for anyone who wishes further information in all its activities and services. It can be reached at 733-7027, telefax 734-9425; 0919-2337783; email life@prolife.org.ph, or visit www.prolife.org.ph.