Bishop calls on laity to boost pro-life cause

Bishop Gabriel Reyes. (Photo: CBCPMedia)

AS the nation observes Pro-life month in February, a Catholic bishop calls on the Filipino laity to actively participate in the pro-life cause and intensify their defense of Catholic values.

Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes said there is a need for “more lay people to stand for life, and to be champions of the poor, the weak, and the innocent.” 

Reyes, who is also the chairman of Episcopal Commission on Family and Life has endorsed the various activities Pro-Life Philippines is organizing for the entire month of February. 

He urged the laity to actively promote the Gospel of life and love in every sphere of society. 

“We are waging a spiritual war, and our laity should stand at the forefront of our temporal realities that help build the spiritual kingdom of God - frontlines like politics, mass and social media, commerce, and public service should be filled with holy and knowledgeable Catholics in order for the Gospel to be spread to everyone and every place and institution,” he said. 

“The defense of our deeply held values of life, family, and marriage is a worthwhile reason for us Catholics to step up and make our presence felt,” the bishop continued.

Already in its 27^th year, activities during the Pro-Life month include talks, seminars and other programs “that are geared towards educating and training especially the lay to actively participate in the pro-life cause.”  This year’s observance has the theme, “Year of the Laity, Year of Life: Hand in Hand towards a Pro-Life Nation”.

Reyes urged the laity to exert every effort “to keep the culture of death away from our nation.”

Quoting Pope Francis, he said, "A population that does not take care of the elderly and of children and the young has no future, because it abuses both its memory and its promise." 

On February 2, a Eucharistic celebration will be held at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros at 10 am to mark Pro-Life Sunday.

The observance of February as pro-life month stemmed from a Proclamation No. 214, of then President Corazon Aquino, declaring the second week of February 1988 and every year thereafter as “Respect and Care for Life Week”.

 

'Be contemplative shepherds', Villegas urges fellow bishops

Archbishop Soc Villegas (Photo: Roy Lagarde)

PRESIDENT of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and Lingayen Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas called on fellow bishops to be “contemplative shepherds” who seek only the good for their flock.

He said it is only through a life “soaked” in prayer and contemplation that bishops would be able to teach their flock in full freedom, “freedom from the fascination of political or social gain, freedom from the insane and unreal attraction of popularity in the world.” 

“To be contemplative bishops is to become truthfully honest, cheerfully loving and passionately zealous teachers of the flock, bishops serving the Lord in total freedom detached from vainglory,” Villegas said in a speech at the opening of the bishops’ 108^th plenary assembly at Pius XII Center, Jan. 25. 

The CBCP president also stressed the important role of the laity to pray for their bishops so that they will transformed into contemplative pastors. 

He also asked Religious sisters and seminarians, as well as lay devotees to pray for the bishops as they meet for the plenary assembly. 

Villegas had a small chapel put up beside the plenary hall so prayer warriors can take turns in the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for the whole duration of the CBCP plenary assembly, which will end on Jan. 27.  

“They are praying for us their pastors. The flock is praying for their shepherds. The lambs and sheep are praying for us their pastors,” Villegas told fellow bishops. 

“This is the Church of the new evangelization. Let us allow our flock to transform us their pastors into contemplative shepherds of the people,” he said.

Inclusive celebration

Villegas said the celebration of the Year of the laity should not be an exclusive affair for those who are supportive of the Church.

But it should include “the critical and distant ones more importantly those who disagreed with us on the RH law, those who hurl accusations at us fairly or unfairly. They are children of God too, our brothers and sisters, members of our flock also,” said Villegas. 

“We can do this if we are soaked in prayer as contemplative shepherds of the people freed from fear and rejection, carrying the mark of Christ scourged, crucified yet risen,” he said. 

Villegas pointed out that it is also important to discern that their movement towards contemplation is not merely an escape from pastoral realities.  

He said it is important to always look for the fruit of prayer, as true prayer will always lead to “greater charity for the poor” and an “increase of love”. 

“If contemplation does not lead to action for justice and charity, it might have really become the “shabu” of the bishops, an addictive flight from reality,” the CBCP president said. 

A life that has truly encountered Jesus in prayer, said Villegas, must guide the bishops’ response to the poor in today’s society. 

“The poor are not just curious ciphers on a statistical report. The poor are not just the unlettered, the unwashed, the uninitiated, the uneducated, the unhealthy, the naked, the exploited, the trafficked, and the infirm gazing into our eyes for human recognition,” he said. 

Reach out sincerely to others

He encouraged fellow bishops to heed the advice of Pope Francis in planning church programs and projects, especially in this year of the Laity, “to resist the temptation” of talking and acting “like spiritual masters and pastoral experts who give instructions from on high.” 

He said it is important to “stay focused on the Lord and reach out sincerely to the distant poor and the wayward children of God.” 

“We cannot allow the Year of the Laity to create more circles of elite and closed-in lay groups sometimes called mandated organizations,” Villegas said. 

“We need to reach out to those who are angry at us bishops, those we have disillusioned and those we have misled or confused by our excessive misplaced prudence or unbecoming lifestyle,” he said.

‘The best of times, the worst of times’ 

Noting the many calamities and scandals that happened in the country in the past six months since the last plenary assembly, Villegas couldn’t help himself but quote Charles Dickens by saying it has been “the best of times” and “the worst of times.” 

“We were visited by the strongest typhoon in the world two months ago but the Lord has blessed the Church in Mindanao with its first Cardinal, Cardinal Orly Quevedo, OMI,” Villegas said.

“Thousands died from the storm surge in Leyte but it also brought us an admirable surge of charity worldwide,” he added.

But he also said it is important to look with the eyes of a contemplative the recent devastation caused by Typhoon Yolanda and the massive destruction wrought by the earthquake.

“We must look at these events with the eyes of the Lord, feel with the heart of the Lord and act with the hands and feet of the Lord. Our best contribution to the rehabilitation in Samar or Leyte, Bohol or Zamboanga is Christ,” Villegas said. 

“We send help because of Christ, in Christ and through Christ,” Villegas told fellow bishops. “Our task is not just to build new homes that can be washed away again by the next storm surges. Our mission is not just to send food for the hungry and give water to the thirsty.” 

“The Christ that is in me reaches out to the Christ that is suffering. It is Christ reaching out to Christ,” he said. “We will miss this point if we are not contemplative bishops. We can even reduce NASSA and the CBCP into just another philanthropic institution and we are not. We are Christ’s,” Villegas said.

 

Impacting people’s lives through communication, the greatest thrill—Vatican Radio director

Communication is his life, so says Sean Patrick Lovett standing at the back.
(Photo courtesy of Bishop Pablo David.)

FOR a person who has spent most of his life in the world of communication, nothing could be more exhilarating than knowing you are impacting people’s lives through it.

That is what Vatican Radio director Sean Patrick Lovett, said at the sidelines during a social media workshop for the bishops at Pius XII Center, Jan. 22. 

Lovett, who as a child realized he never wanted to do anything else but to be involved in the media and communication, said it is exciting “to be able to share my experience and knowledge with the bishops and to know that through them, you’re changing the image of the church and the country.”

Vice-president of CREC (Centre for Research and Education in Communication) and Director of Vatican Radio’s English Programme, Lovett conducted a three-day seminar-workshop for the bishops on Jan. 21-23 upon the invitation of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

“You are really impacting, you’re touching people and their experiences. It’s the greatest feeling you can have because it gives meaning to your existence. You go away thinking, Gosh, you know, it’s all worthwhile in the end,” said Lovett.

He was obviously as thrilled as the bishops who have shown so much enthusiasm in learning how to use social media, especially Facebook.

“I have never seen group of bishops so happy when they left the room at the end of the session,” Lovett said, noting that even during the break, many bishops did not want to go for snacks because they were so taken up in what they are doing “they could not leave their laptops and their tablets.”

In an earlier interview, Lovett admitted that “it is difficult sometimes to convince bishops to engage in social media.” 

In the same interview, he referenced Pope Francis’ saying: “If the bishops want to be a true pastor, they really need to smell like a sheep, and if the sheep smell like social media, the bishop should smell like social media too.” 

But his experience of the recent seminar proved that Philippine bishops, although most of them unskilled in using social media and other modern gadgets, were willing to learn overcome their biases to be able to connect with the faithful. 

“It’s funny but the reality is that most of the bishops who are not media savvy, who do not have much experience about media came away from the session this morning not only with a greater awareness of the medium and not only with the realization that they can do it but [also] the desire, the passion to use this new media, the social networking to stay connected with their young people especially interact with them, and to inspire them in a new way,” Lovett said. 

Lovett, who has given seminars to many bishops in various parts of the world, noted the diversity of age groups and experiences. 

“We have one bishop [this morning] who does not have a cellphone, and by the end of the morning he had a Facebook account,” he observed with amusement during the feedback session. 

“This is reality, this is what we experience. We had other bishops who were seeing their websites for the first time, who were able to assess critically their own websites and choose to decide what messages, what images they wish to project and how to connect better in Facebook,” he added. 

For Lovett, nothing can surpass the excitement of seeing the transformation among the bishops—of seeing “their eyes literally light up with excitement almost like a child, with discovery, with the realization that [learning and navigating social media] is much easier than they thought.”

“The biggest thrill of doing this is to see the transformation inside and not outside. Most of bishops have the gadgets. They have the tablets, they have the Macbook, they have all the instruments, but they don’t have the skills or desire to use these instruments to their best capability,” he said. 

Multi-awarded communicator 

For Lovett, who was into radio for the first time as a child when he was 5 years old, said communication is his life.  

“I never want to do anything else but to be involved in the media and communication,” he said. 

A multi-awarded communicator, Lovett has taught Communications courses at the Pontifical Gregorian University for 25 years.  

Pope Benedict in 2011 made him a Papal Knight in recognition for his 35 years of service to four Popes, beginning with Paul VI. 

He was named Catholic Communicator of the Year by the University of Dayton in 2012 and Christendom College awarded him the St. Thomas More Medal for Defence of the Faith. 

Together with Lovett, during the three-day seminar was Fr. Jerry Martinson, SJ, an experienced trainer in the field of communications and media and formerly Vice President of the International Catholic Association of Film and Audio Visuals. 

Some members of the Pauline Family—Society of St. Paul, Daughters of St. Paul and Pious Disciples of the Divine Master—participated as facilitators during the workshop.  

Bishops discover social media, post messages on Facebook

Bishops learn how to use the social media.

IN what seems to be the biggest thrill in their life, the Philippine bishops in a workshop navigated the realm of social media, with many posting their first messages in Facebook.

For some there was a bit of apprehension of not knowing yet what to do at first, only ending up delighted in knowing that it wasn’t that difficult after all. 

“The biggest thrill of doing this is to see the transformation inside and not outside,” said Vatican Radio director Sean Lovett.  

He said he is excited to witness the transformation of the bishops in learning the new media, of seeing their eyes literally light up in excitement in discovering that opening a facebook account and posting photos and messages is much easier than they thought. 

Lovett, together with Fr. Jerry Martinson, SJ is conducting a seminar-workshop on Media management and social media for the bishops leading to the CBCP plenary assembly on Jan. 25 to 27. 

Exercise of communion

Lingayen Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, CBP president, noted that the seminar workshop was an exercise of communion. 

“The bishops humbly allowed themselves to be taught by younger people, by religious who might not be as well trained as they [bishops] are in theology but they are willing to learn from others. I think this should be celebrated as a step towards communion in the Church,” he said.

Members of the Pauline family from the Society of St. Paul, Daughters of St. Paul and the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master helped Lovett and Martinson in facilitating the workshop. 

Villegas said having the Religious and seminarians facilitate in the workshop is also a blessing as it also presented “an opportunity for them to let go of their biases, their apprehensions that the bishops are stiff and rigid, so it became an opportunity for warming up of relationships.”

“There is really no substitute to a personal encounter, that it is not just about learning techniques, but the important thing is a personal encounter with each other and encountering Christ in each other, and that is evangelization,” he said.  

“Evangelization is Jesus in my heart reaching out to your heart. I think that is a celebration of mutual evangelization,” the prelate furthered. 

Villegas, who also has a facebook account that has already garnered 14 thousand likes, said the workshop helped further enhance the appreciation of those who are already using facebook, and for those who are not yet into it have discovered the value of social media. 

Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon also said he is very happy about the workshop because it was not only “something that is seen as a youthful activity or something that only young people can get into but each and everyone of us, mainly because of the evangelization value of getting into the world of social media.” 

For his part, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who already has an existing facebook account that has reached its 5000 maximum of friends, discovered another way of expanding his reach in cyberspace by opening a fan page. 

“I made the first fan page during this workshop, so it is wonderful that in 10 minutes you can have already 27 friends,” he said. 

Having learned also how to upload photos, Pabillo vowed to always accompany his posts with images from now on. 

“The picture is so powerful and I know how to upload a picture now. So this is something that can be something of help and I resolve to update my facebook account more frequently,” he said. 

Passion to use the new media 

Lovett observed that although most bishops have the gadgets, the tablets, the Macbook and all the instruments, many of them also do not have the skills or the desire to use these instruments to their best capability.  

But apparently the workshop did not only give them the skills but also fired them up to engage in social networking. 

“It’s funny but the reality is that most of the bishops who are not media savvy, who do not have much experience about media came away from the session this morning not only with a greater awareness of the medium and not only with the realization that they can do it but the desire, the passion to use this new media, the social networking to stay connected with their young people, especially interact with them, and to inspire them in a new way,” he said. 

“I have given many seminars to so many bishops, not only in one place in one time, and with such a diversity of age groups and experiences. We have one bishop [this morning] who does not have a cellphone, and by the end of the morning he had a facebook account,” Lovett raved.

 

CBCP precedes plenary assembly with social media seminar

Sean-Patrick Lovett 

A SEMINAR-workshop on media management and social media will precede the annual plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines from January 25 to 27.

Seàn-Patrick Lovett, vice president of CREC (Centre for Research and Education in Communication) and Director of Vatican Radio’s English Programme is in town to conduct the seminar-workshop on Jan. 21-23 upon the invitation of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. 

Lovett has been around many countries giving the same seminar to other bishops but he noted that “every bishops’ conference is different because every cultural context is different.” 

“I would love for the bishops to have a positive experience of media, to be empowered, to understand, to see something that they can do, to see something they want to do, to see something they need to do,” said Lovett in an interview. 

A multi-awarded communicator, Lovett has taught Communications courses at the Pontifical Gregorian University for 25 years. Pope Benedict in 2011 made him a Papal Knight in recognition for his 35 years of service to four Popes, beginning with Paul VI. 

He was named Catholic Communicator of the Year by the University of Dayton in 2012 and Christendom College awarded him the St. Thomas More Medal for Defence of the Faith. 

Basing from his experience and knowing how the new media can be intimidating to some people, Lovett admitted that “it is difficult sometimes to convince bishops to engage in social media.” 

“One of the ways, perhaps they can be convinced, is to remind them that we do need to connect, and that new media, social media allow us to connect to the people,” he said.  

The three-day seminar is organized following the process of discovering, experiencing and discerning. 

The first day of the seminar, which will begin in the afternoon of Jan. 21, will explore a more authentic communications approach in the era of Pope Francis by “Putting the ME back into the MEDIA”, and refining the skills and techniques needed to manage a media crisis effectively by “Putting the MAN back into MANAGEMENT.” 

On the second day, bishops will have a hands-on “using social media to interact and inspire, telling old stories in new ways using digital gadgets and technologies, dealing with a media crisis in a fearless and faithful way exercising personality, passion and patience, and responding to pressure from the press and meeting media expectations.” 

A half day session on the topics of “Understanding impact, influence and innuendo” and  “Everything you ever wanted to know about Catholic communications… will cap the seminar on Jan. 23. 

Lovett said he hopes the seminar-workshop will be of encouragement and inspiration to the bishops to use the new media. 

“I trust in the power of the Holy Spirit,” he said, “my job is just to open the door, and to invite the bishops to come in. It’s the job of the Holy Spirit to inspire them to do so. 

Paraphrasing the words of Pope Francis, that of the pastor smelling like the sheep, Lovett said: "And if the bishops want to be a true pastor, they really need to smell like a sheep, and if the sheep smell like social media, the bishop should smell like social media too." 

Joining Lovett during the three-day seminar workshop is Fr. Jerry Martinson, SJ, an experienced trainer in the field of communications and media and formerly Vice President of the International Catholic Association of Film and Audio Visuals.

Some members of the Pauline Family—Society of St. Paul, Daughters of St. Paul and Pious Disciples of the Divine Master—will also participate as facilitators during the workshop.

Bishop calls for missionary fervor in diocese

Bishop Gilbert Garcera

A YOUNG bishop called on the faithful to fully involve themselves in the local church and transform the diocese with apostolic and missionary dynamism.

For a “diocese to be truly vibrant” it is necessary that “we must become a church” that is created by full participation of all the members, Bishop Gilbert Garcera told Daet faithful.

A church is not built through the involvement of only a selected few, neither is it centered only on the clergy, but active participation from everyone is vital to make it alive and energetic, Garcera emphasized in his pastoral letter on January 1.

Garcera introduced the diocesan celebration of the Year of the Laity and of Social Concerns in his New Year’s message, stressing on the role of the laity in building the church and transforming society, while following the examples of Mary.

He echoed Pope Francis’ words saying: "parishes are not outdated institutions. Our parishes possess great flexibility. Our parishes can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the parish priests and the community."

“Thus, we ask ourselves,” Garcera said, “Do I involve myself in my parish? Is my parish vibrant with apostolic and missionary enthusiasm?”

Faith and praxis

The bishop stressed that if one’s faith is to grow, it must be a faith that “flows into daily life such that our private and public life demonstrate our being true disciples of the Lord.”

“We must have a faith that can transform our society and not just a faith that is solely centered on devotional and liturgical practices, nor of a faith that is divorced from moral life,” he said.

Take Mary’s example

The bishop urged the faithful to take the Blessed Virgin’s examples as inspiration in following his Son, Jesus.

“I invite you to acknowledge our strong conviction that we all walk with Jesus, the real light in our journey in this New Year. With Jesus, we are assured that this year is a new beginning which is full of enthusiasm and hopes,” Garcera said.

He said the Blessed Mother’s full cooperation with God’s work of redemption makes her the “closest associate in Christ’s saving work.”

“Mary's total and generous cooperation with God in the work of redemption truly shines further as our inspiration and example as we begin the Year on the Laity and Social Concerns in the Diocese of Daet,” Garcera told the faithful.

Drawing from Marian documents, Garcera cited Mary attributes that makes her an excellent “model of lay collaboration and laity’s vocation to social transformation.”

He also mentioned a significant fresco found in the catacombs of St. Agnes in Rome that for him completely illustrates Mary’s full support to the early Church as a laywoman.

“Mary's prominent position between Saints Peter and Paul [in the fresco] illustrates the recognition by the Apostolic Church of the maternal centrality of Mary in the primitive Church,” he said.

“More importantly, this proves that Mary truly supported the apostles in her capacity as a laywoman in building the early church,” added the prelate.

Garcera hopes that encouraged by the examples of Mary, they would be able to build a missionary community in the diocese as they celebrate the Year of the Laity and Social Concerns.

“I hope that this would happen within the diocese through the promotion of lay participation and co-responsibility and the development of a faith that is connected with social and moral life,” he declared.

Various activities highlight the diocesan celebration of the Year of the Laity and Social Concerns, among which are: Creation of New Vicariates, Pastoral Congress on Ecology and mining, Home Visitation, Poverty Reduction Program, Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of SPACFI, Seminar on the life and mission of St. Joseph, Patron Saint in the Diocese, Strengthening of Parish Pastoral Councils and Ministries through Ongoing Formation, and the Launching of the 40th Foundation Anniversary of the Diocese of Daet.

Villegas calls for dynamism among lay people in the Year of Laity

Photo: CBCP Media

LINGAYEN-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas urged for a greater involvement from lay people even as he called on priests to be more open in sharing church responsibilities with the laity.

“We need to cultivate in our archdiocese a fresh sense of co-responsibility in the Church and to explore all possibilities for priests and laity to work together with mutual respect and fraternal charity,” the Archbishop said in a pastoral letter to the Dagupan faithful on January 1.

As the Catholic Church observes 2014 as Year of the Laity, Villegas, who is also president of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said it is important to use this “occasion of grace to attend to two pastoral concerns that need conversion.”

He noted the necessity “to bring the laity out of the situation of passivity” and for the clergy to be “more open and willing to share church responsibilities” with the lay faithful.

Villegas said that the laity, by virtue of their baptism, share “in common priesthood of life [which] defines the identity, mission, dignity, vocation and spirituality of all Christians.”

He encouraged his flock to take heed of what Pope Francis said in Evangelii Gaudium regarding the role of the laity.

The Pope in his pastoral exhortation noted that many lay persons have not been given proper formation that would facilitate their taking important responsibilities in the Church, and even if they are involved in church ministries, their commitment is just limited in doing church duties, and does not reflect “in a greater penetration of Christian values in the social, political and economic sectors.” (EG, 102)

Healthy signs

Addressing parish communities, chaplaincies and pastoral stations, Villegas invited them to look for three signs of a healthy Church life in their communities at the end of 2014.

He said the fruits should be “more catechists and more social action ministers than liturgical lay ministers; the rosary is prayed at home in more families with the parents and children praying together; and every year, there is at least one young man who will enter the seminary and answer the call to be a priest.”

The prelate noted of a high interest among lay people to serve as ministers at the altar but there is little attraction to teach as Catechists or work among the poor as social action ministers.

“There is a bit of glamour and prestige at being seen at the altar,” Villegas said. But he also pointed out, that “our laity is staying too long inside the church doing work inside the church presuming that God is pleased.”

“This must be corrected,” he said, adding: “The lay faithful are primarily called for social engagement outside the church building. There must be more laity working for God in society than at the altar.”

The prelate also stressed the importance of praying the rosary at home calling as sick “a parish without family prayer at home.”

He encouraged parishioners to “organize barangay block rosaries, coros of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal or Divine Mercy clusters.”

“The best contribution we can make for society is indeed prayer but prayer must be brought out of church premises and brought at home, at work, in the plaza, in the streets, in the market and grocery stores; indeed everywhere,” Villegas said.

He also asked every family to pray for a vocation at home, noting that a family which has raised its children in the faith usually is a seedbed of vocation to the priesthood and consecrated life.

“The priest is called from among the laity in order to help the laity grow in their friendship with the Lord,” Villegas said.

He emphasized that the priest serves the laity and not the other around.

“I hope the priests will be more trusting and open with the involvement of the laity. We pray that our laity will wake up from passivity, be fired by the Spirit and dare to change the world for Christ,” Villegas said.