Jose Rizal's retraction: the controversy

By Dr. Raul Nidoy

One of my contributions at Wikipedia, in the article on Jose Rizal, which I first wrote in November 2009. It is written in accord with Wikipedia's NPOV policy, meaning Neutral Point of View. 
 
Several historians report that Rizal retracted his anti-Catholic ideas through a document which stated: "I retract with all my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and conduct have been contrary to my character as a son of the Catholic Church."[note 13] However, there are doubts of its authenticity given that there is no certificate of Rizal's Catholic marriage to Josephine Bracken.[45] Also there is an allegation that the retraction document was a forgery.[46]

After analyzing six major documents of Rizal, Ricardo Pascual concluded that the retraction document, said to have been discovered in 1935, was not in Rizal's handwriting. Senator Rafael Palma, a former President of the University of the Philippines and a prominent Mason, argued that a retraction is not in keeping with Rizal's character and mature beliefs.[47] He called the retraction story a "pious fraud."[48] Others who deny the retraction are Frank Laubach,[10] a Protestant minister; Austin Coates,[31] a British writer; and Ricardo Manapat, director of the National Archives.[49]

Those who affirm the authenticity of Rizal's retraction are prominent Philippine historians such as Nick Joaquin,[note 14] Nicolas Zafra of UP[50] León María Guerrero III,[note 15] Gregorio Zaide,[52] Guillermo Gómez Rivera, Ambeth Ocampo,[49] John Schumacher,[53] Antonio Molina,[54] Paul Dumol[55] and Austin Craig.[26] They take the retraction document as authentic, having been judged as such by a foremost expert on the writings of Rizal, Teodoro Kalaw (a 33rd degree Mason) and "handwriting experts...known and recognized in our courts of justice", H. Otley Beyer and Dr. José I. Del Rosario, both of UP.[50]

Historians also refer to 11 eyewitnesses when Rizal wrote his retraction, signed a Catholic prayer book, and recited Catholic prayers, and the multitude who saw him kiss the crucifix before his execution. A great grand nephew of Rizal, Fr. Marciano Guzman, cites that Rizal's 4 confessions were certified by 5 eyewitnesses, 10 qualified witnesses, 7 newspapers, and 12 historians and writers including Aglipayan bishops, Masons and anti-clericals.[56] One witness was the head of the Spanish Supreme Court at the time of his notarized declaration and was highly esteemed by Rizal for his integrity.[57]

Because of what he sees as the strength these direct evidence have in the light of the historical method, in contrast with merely circumstantial evidence, UP professor emeritus of history Nicolas Zafra called the retraction "a plain unadorned fact of history."[50] Guzmán attributes the denial of retraction to "the blatant disbelief and stubbornness" of some Masons.[56] To explain his retraction, Guzman said that the factors were the following: (a) the long discussion and debate which appealed to reason and logic that he had with Fr. Balaguer, (b) the visits of his mentors and friends from the Ateneo, and (c) the grace of God due the numerous prayers of religious communities.

Supporters see in the retraction Rizal's "moral courage...to recognize his mistakes;"[52][note 16] his reversion to the "true faith", and thus his "unfading glory;"[57] and a return to the "ideals of his fathers" which "did not diminish his stature as a great patriot; on the contrary, it increased that stature to greatness."[60]  On the other hand, senator Jose Diokno stated, "Surely whether Rizal died as a Catholic or an apostate adds or detracts nothing from his greatness as a Filipino... Catholic or Mason, Rizal is still Rizal - the hero who courted death 'to prove to those who deny our patriotism that we know how to die for our duty and our beliefs'."[61]

Notes 13 to 16
^ Me retracto de todo corazon de cuanto en mis palabras, escritos, impresos y conducta ha habido contrario á mi cualidad de hijo de la Iglesia Católica: Jesus Cavanna, Rizal's Unfading Glory: A Documentary History of the Conversion of Dr. José Rizal (Manila: 1983) ^ Joaquin, Nick, Rizal in Saga, Philippine National Centennial Commission, 1996:""It seems clear now that he did retract, that he went to confession, heard mass, received communion, and was married to Josephine, on the eve of his death". ^ "That is a matter for handwriting experts, and the weight of expert opinion is in favor of authenticity. It is nonsense to say that the retraction does not prove Rizal's conversion; the language of the document is unmistakable."[51] ^ The retraction, Javier de Pedro contends, is the end of a process which started with a personal crisis as Rizal finished the Fili.[58][59]
References:
^ Ildefonso T. Runes and Mameto R. Buenafe, The Forgery of the Rizal "Retraction" and Josephine's "Autobiography" (Manila: BR Book Col, 1962) ^ "Rizal's Retraction: A Note on the Debate, Silliman Journal (Vol. 12, No. 2, April, May, June 1965), pages 168–183". Life and Writings of José Rizal. Retrieved September 9, 2009. ^ Rafael Palma, Pride of the Malay Race (New York: Prentice Hall, 1949) ^ a b Ambeth Ocampo (2008). Rizal Without the Overcoat. Anvil Publishing. ^ a b c Nicolas Zafra (1961). Historicity of Rizal's Retraction. Bookmark. ^ Guerrero, León Maria III (1963). "The First Filipino: A Biography of José Rizal". National Historical Institute of The Philippines, Manila. ^ a b Gregorio Zaide (2003). Jose Rizal: Life, Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist and National Hero. National Bookstore. ^ Schumacher, John. "The Making of a Nation: Essays on Nineteenth-Century Nationalism". ^ Molina, Antonio M. (1998). "Yo, José Rizal". Ediciones de Cultura Hispánica, Madrid. ^ "Uncovering Controversial Facts about José Rizal" (mariaronabeltran.com) ^ a b Marciano Guzman (1988). The Hard Facts About Rizal's Conversion. Sinagtala Publishers. ^ a b Jesus Cavanna (1983). Rizal's Unfading Glory: A Documentary History of the Conversion of Dr. Jose Rizal. ^ Javier de Pedro (2005) Rizal Through a Glass Darkly, University of Asia and the Pacific ^ "Evolution of Rizal's Religious Thought". ^ (1950-01-06). "Joint Statement of the Catholic Hierarchy of the Philippines on the Book 'The Pride of the Malay Race'". CBCP (Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines) Documents. Retrieved on 2012-09-30. ^ Garcia, Ricardo P. (1964). "The Great Debate: The Rizal Retraction - Preface". R.P. Garcia Publishing Co., Quezon City.

=============

Schematic presentation

Contrary to the spreaders of myths and lies, Rizal clearly retracted his errors and died a Catholic

Historians and scholars who concluded Rizal retracted his errors and died a Catholic
- Nicolas Zafra - professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines
- Gregorio Zaide - Dean of Filipino Historiographers, multi-awarded historian
- Antonio Molina - distinguished Filipino historian and diplomat
- John Schumacher - American-born Filipino Jesuit historian and educator
- Nick Joaquin - prominent journalist and National Artist
- León María Guerrero III - Rizal translator, writer and diplomat
- Guillermo Gómez Rivera - academic director of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española, historian and playwright
- Paul Dumol - Philippine playwright, historian and educator
- Austin Craig - first Chair of the Department of History of the University of the Philippines; one of the first biographers of Rizal
- Ambeth Ocampo - Chairman of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts

Evidence of the retraction
- Top handwriting experts, H. Otley Beyer and Dr. José I. Del Rosario, both of the University of the Philippines and expert on Rizal, Teodoro Kalaw (a 33rd degree Mason), recognize the authenticity of the retraction document
- 11 eyewitnesses of Rizal writing his retraction, signing a Catholic prayer book, and reciting Catholic prayers
- Crowd saw him kiss the crucifix before his execution
- 5 eyewitnesses, 10 qualified witnesses, 7 newspapers, and 12 historians and writers including Aglipayan bishops, Masons and anti-clericals witnessed Rizal's four confessions.
- One witness was the head of the Spanish Supreme Court at the time of his notarized declaration and was highly esteemed by Rizal for his integrity

Retraction shows Rizal's greatness
- his "moral courage...to recognize his mistakes" (Zaide)
- his reversion to the "true faith", and thus his "unfading glory" (Cavanna)
- his return to the "ideals of his fathers" which "did not diminish his stature as a great patriot; on the contrary, it increased that stature to greatness." (CBCP)

==============
Conclusion: People have asked me what can I personally conclude from the evidence. If you use a "weighing scale" to compare the evidence between retraction vs. non-retraction, there is an abundance of solid evidence in favor of retraction. That is why the most objective historians have concluded in favor of it. Rizal really retracted.

==============

Note: Below you can find the state of the section in Wikipedia on the Retraction controversy dated Nov 22, 2009 before my first contribution. This reveals the extent of the information (or better misinformation) prevalent at that time:

That his burial was not on holy ground led to issues raised on the veracity of accounts of his 'retraction,' which the Church ever since has been vigorously defending. Many continue to believe that Rizal neither married his sweetheart Josephine Bracken in Roman Catholic rites hours before his execution nor ever retracted those parts of his writings that were anti-Roman Catholic.[32][33]

Those who deny the retraction point out to a revealing clue tucked in 'Adiós', I go where there are no slaves, no hangmen or oppressors, where faith does not kill...[34] Whether this stanza was his final comment on the Catholic Church is a subject of dispute. In most of his writings Rizal maintained that the men of the cloth were the real rulers and the real government. Much of the Church's case rests on claims of a signed retraction, a copy of which could not be produced and shown to the Rizal family despite their repeated requests.

My first edit dated Nov 23, 2009 can be found here.

===========================================
Breaking News! These one-page leaflets in this blog are going viral around the world. One leaflet was posted in the website of the Archdiocese of Westminster in London ("The Mother Church of England"), in the Corpus Christi Parish in Canada,  in Kenya and in Macau. To get the full collection, please see this: One Page Leaflets for New Evangelization Going Viral!

===========================================
Two related articles on the Catholic religion which Rizal reverted to as the rational choice are:

• A Most Intelligent Choice:  Brief but strong arguments for the rational foundations of the truth of Catholic Christian belief
• Ten Reasons the Catholic Church is the One True Church of Jesus. 

A first rational premise behind that choice is the existence of God. For the rational basis of belief in God, an interesting and quite thorough argumentation is found in Peter Kreeft's Extremely Brief Arguments for God's Existence.

The second rational premise for choosing the Catholic Church is that Jesus, its founder, is God.  To understand the evidence and the logical reasoning behind this statement, please see Is Jesus God?, a post that points to a powerful video based on a bestselling book of a former atheist and to a powerpoint presentation that countered the negative claims of the Da Vinci Code.

If it is rational to acknowledge that (1) God exists, (2) Jesus is God, and (3) Jesus founded one true Church, then isn't Jose Rizal's retraction and return to the Catholic Church the most intelligent of choices? Doesn't the above argumentation show that the Catholic Church is the most evidence-based religion and truly the Religion of the Logos, of Reason? 

Another relevant article is What Catholics Believe, a one-page summary of the key teachings of the Catholic Faith: Creed, Sacraments, Morality, Prayer and Apostolate.

How to practice charity while disagreeing

There is one decisive test for charity: to love the very person who goes contrary to us. -- St. Gregory the Great, Homily on the Gospels 2

Don't judge without having heard both sides. Even persons who think themselves virtuous very easily forget this elementary rule of prudence. -- St. Josemaria, The Way 454

To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:

Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved (St. Ignatius de Loyola) -- CCC 2478

Boasting or bragging is an offense against truth. So is irony aimed at disparaging someone by maliciously caricaturing some aspect of his behavior. -- CCC 2481

Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury. He becomes guilty:

- of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;

- of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them;

- of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them. -- CCC 2477

Let us be slow to judge. — Each one sees things from his own point of view, as his mind, with all its limitations, tells him, and through eyes that are often dimmed and clouded by passion.

Moreover, as happens with those modernist painters, the outlook of certain people is so unhealthily subjective that they dash off a few random strokes and assure us that they represent our portrait, our conduct.

Of what little worth are the judgments of men! Don't judge without sifting your judgment in prayer. -- St. Josemaria, The Way 451

Charity does not consist so much in 'giving' as in 'understanding'. Therefore, seek an excuse for your neighbour — there is always one be found, — if it is your duty to judge. -- St. Josemaria, The Way 463

Seek first to understand then to be understood. We often prescribe before making a proper diagnosis when communicating. We should first take the time to deeply understand the problems presented to us. -- Steven Covey

It is no wonder that pride gives birth to dissension while love generates unity. -- St. Augustine, Sermon 46 on Pastors

"Among the proud there is always strife". (Prov 13:10): because he who has high concept of himself and looks down on others cannot bear their faults. -- St. Thomas Aquinas, About Charity 1.c.

Never correct anyone while you are still indignant about a fault committed. Wait until the next day, or even longer. And then, calmly, and with a purer intention, make your reprimand. You will gain more by one friendly word than by a three-hour quarrel. Control your temper. -- St. Josemaria, The Way 10

When you correct someone — because it has to be done and you want to do your duty — you must expect to hurt others and to get hurt yourself.

But you should never let this fact be an excuse for holding back. -- St. Josemaria, Forge 567

When they take their little children in their arms, mothers —good mothers— make sure they do not have any pins in their clothes which could hurt them. When we deal with souls, we should have the same gentleness, together with all the determination required. - St. Josemaria, Furrow 959

Carefully avoid anything that can hurt other people’s hearts. -- St. Josemaria, Furrow 807

If bare justice is done, people may feel hurt.

—Always act, therefore, for the love of God, which will add to that justice the balm of a neighbourly love, and will purify and cleanse all earthly love.

When you bring God in, everything becomes supernatural. -- St. Josemaria, Forge 502

Nothing makes us resemble God more than being always disposed to forgive. -- St. John Chrysostom, Homily on St. Matthew 19

It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another; how they are ready even to die for one another, for they themselves will sooner put to death the other. -- Tertullian, Apologeticum 39,7

The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love (Roman Catechism) -- CCC 25

When we Catholics defend and uphold the truth, without making concessions, we have to strive to create an atmosphere of charity, of harmony, to drown all hatred and resentment. -- St.Josemaria, The Forge 564

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. -- 1 Cor 13:4-7

It should be noted that blessedness is granted in proportion to charity and not in proportion to any other virtue. -- St. Thomas Aquinas, About Charity 1.c.

Teachings of Pope Francis

I have just contributed these two sub-sections in Wikipedia in the article on Pope Francis.

Announcing Jesus and rejecting worldliness

In both his first homily as Pope and in his first address to the cardinals, Francis talked about walking in the presence of Jesus Christ and stressed the church mission to announce him. In the audience with the cardinals, he said:

Stimulated by the Year of Faith, all together, pastors and faithful, we will make an effort to respond faithfully to the eternal mission: to bring Jesus Christ to humanity, and to lead humanity to an encounter with Jesus Christ: the Way, the Truth and the Life, truly present in the Church and, at the same time, in every person. This encounter makes us become new men in the mystery of Grace, provoking in our hearts the Christian joy that is a hundredfold that given us by Christ to those who welcome Him into their lives.

In his homily, he stressed that "if we do not profess Jesus Christ, things go wrong. We may become a charitable NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of the Lord." He went on to teach that "When we do not profess Jesus Christ, we profess the worldliness of the devil... when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord, we are worldly".

The theme of rejecting "spiritual worldliness", has been described as a "leitmotif" of his teachings even before he became Pope. Understanding this worldliness as "putting oneself at the center", he said that it is the "greatest danger for the Church, for us, who are in the Church."

Morality as response to God’s mercy

Bergoglio views morality in the context of an encounter with Christ. This encounter is “triggered” by mercy, and the “privileged locus of the encounter is the caress of the mercy of Jesus Christ on my sin.”

And thus, he says, a new morality --a correspondence to mercy-- is born. He views this morality as a “revolution”: it is “not a titanic effort of the will”, but “simply a response” to a “surprising, unforeseeable, and ‘unjust’ mercy”. It is “not a ‘never falling down’ but an ‘always getting up again.’”

According to his biography, The Jesuit, he changed his life when, at 17 years of age, he started a day of student celebrations by going to confession. "A strange thing happened to me...It was a surprise, the astonishment of an encounter...This is the religious experience: the astonishment of encountering someone who was waiting for you... God is the one who seeks us first."

To find the source references, please visit the site.

To love, we have to receive love. How?

This morning I read an article from Catholic Education Resource Center written by Donald Demarco. He talked about love and reason, favorite topics in this blog.

De Marco's thoughts made me think again of Benedict's enlightening point on how love grows. As far back as 2007 I have been emphasizing this insight of Benedict XVI's Deus Caritas Est: Anyone who wishes to give love must also receive love as a gift.

It is a new formulation of the classic nemo dat quod non habet, we cannot give what we don't have. But Benedict's is a more precise insight into reality, because he starts from the key and all-encompassing principle of all reality: God is love and we -- who want to be better -- are merely made in his image.

And so for us to live his life of love, we have to follow the "design" that is at the heart of the Trinity, the design specifically of God the Son who is the prototype of all humans. Jesus receives everything from the Father and so he is able to give to the Father and to all of us, everything from the Father. He is able to give love because he receives love. We, too, if we are to give love, have to receive God's life of love.

The key then is: how do we receive God's life of love?

This quote from Benedict's talk in Britain can give us the answer:

We were made to receive love, and we have. Every day we should thank God for the love we have already known, for the love that has made us who we are, the love that has shown us what is truly important in life. We need to thank the Lord for the love we have received from our families, our friends, our teachers, and all those people in our lives who have helped us to realise how precious we are, in their eyes and in the eyes of God.

We were also made to give love, to make it the inspiration for all we do and the most enduring thing in our lives. At times this seems so natural, especially when we feel the exhilaration of love, when our hearts brim over with generosity, idealism, the desire to help others, to build a better world. But at other times we realise that it is difficult to love; our hearts can easily be hardened by selfishness, envy and pride. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the great Missionary of Charity, reminded us that giving love, pure and generous love, is the fruit of a daily decision. Every day we have to choose to love, and this requires help, the help that comes from Christ, from prayer and from the wisdom found in his word, and from the grace which he bestow on us in the sacraments of his Church.

The answer is simple. From where do we receive love? "from Christ, from prayer and from the wisdom found in his word, and from the grace which he bestow on us in the sacraments of his Church."

Let's read and meditate on the Bible daily and do lectio divina: ask what God is saying in those words and respond to his message with our own words of praise, thanksgiving, contrition, love, and so on. Scriptures is the privileged place for experiencing and receiving Christ.

And let's go to confession often, as often as possible, because it is there where we receive God's life of love --whose kernel is mercy-- in great abundance.

And let's receive Caritas himself in holy communion daily, and experience the fire of God's love in person.

It is only then when we will be tireless like Mother Teresa, John Paul II and St. Josemaria, in giving our lives to others.

The Catholic Church always prevails: a historic fact

The gates of hell shall never prevail against my Church, so proclaimed Jesus Christ who speaks the truth.

Christ's mystical body, his Catholic Church, always prevails against all odds thrown against it.

This is historic fact.

The Roman empire persecuted the Catholic Church and burnt Christians at the stake. A few centuries after, the Roman empire converted to Christianity and Europe became Christendom, a haven of light, building the university system, bringing about the birth of modern science, the Renaissance arts, the hospital system, international law, the human rights movement, and many other precious contributions to humankind.

Napoleon declared that he will destroy the Church, and took Pope Pius VII prisoner. After Waterloo, Pius VII returned to Rome in triumph and took care of Napoleon and his family while Napoleon was in prison.

Prussia waged a ferocious culture war on the Catholic Church in the 19th century called the Kulturkampf. By the mid-20th century, Prussia was no more. And today, Bavaria, one of the targets of the Kulturkampf, is the original home of the present Pope, Benedict XVI, who with his brilliance and simplicity is re-evangelizing the world.

Catholics suffered violent persecutions in Korea in the 19th century. Now, over the past 10 years, Catholicism is the fastest growing religion, having grown by 70%.

Anti-Catholicism has been the called the "deepest held bias" throughout the history of America and its "last acceptable prejudice". However, Catholicism is the single largest Christian denomination in the United States, and it has the fourth largest Catholic population in the world.

During the martial law years, Ferdinand Marcos arrested many Catholic church personnel, raided church offices, and closed down its radio stations. In 1986, Catholic priests, nuns, and laity, instigated by Cardinal Sin, led the historic EDSA revolution that toppled the dictatorship, making "people power" the world's preferred way of radical but peaceful government transition.

While the dictatorship of relativism holds sway over the land, Christians have envisaged that it will one day fall like a house of cards. While the secular culture of death seem to advance, John Paul the Great has seen this millennium to bring about a new springtime of Christianity. This new springtime will surely come, Benedict XVI is fully convinced, if we Christians remain faithful to prayer, the sacraments, and evangelization and rediscover the beauty of praying with scripture.

God, the owner of the universe, did not come with pomp and majesty. He came as a child, whose victory lies in truth, love and humility. Thus he wins, through his Church, his body, throughout the centuries.

How to think about Halloween as a Catholic

By SIMCHA FISHER in CERC

How delightful it is to be Catholic, when so few things are forbidden — so few things are out of the question....

People are attracted to spooky stuff for a reason — that God made us so that we enjoy small doses of peril and tension, because it prepares us to deal with the real thing, which will surely come along sooner or later. (This is where the adorable and extremely relevant, but adorable fighting kitties comes in.) So as long as we don't spend our lives wallowing in gore and ghoulishness, it's healthy and normal and perfectly fine to indulge in a little dramatic scaring and screaming from time to time. Therefore, spooky Halloween stuff? A-OK.

[This] reminds me of something my sister once pointed out: that when Daddy tosses the baby up in the air and baby laughs, it's because there really is a joke there, albeit a very simple one. The situation says, "You're in danger!" but the baby knows, "But it's Daddy! I'm fine!" See? Funny stuff right there, if you're a baby. And a pretty good analogy for the delightfully childlike question, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Whee! There's yet a third answer to the question of whether creepy, gory costumes and other Halloweeny practices (or scary stuff in general) are appropriate for Catholics to indulge in: some Catholics argue, "This isn't just a little holiday from the somber demands of my Faith — it's actually my way of laughing at the devil! I'm spitting in ol' Nick's eye and reaffirming the truth of the triumph of the Resurrection when I . . . um. . . buy this rubber mask of a clown with an axe splitting his forehead open. See? Ad majorem dei gloriam! Wooooooooooooooo!" I used to roll my eyes over these rather contrived arguments, thinking, "Gee whiz, just admit that you want to have fun sometimes, and stop trying to make some big religious deal out of everything."

But honestly, now I think that even overthinking it can be a perfectly legitimate Catholic approach, if that's what appeals to you.

And also legitimate is yet a fourth approach: skipping Halloween altogether, because it just doesn't seem right.

Because that's the nice part about being a Catholic: as long as we're living our lives in a way that is pleasing to God, we can either be practical and science-based, or we can be analytical and deliberate, or we can be cautious and guarded, or we can be giggling babies.

Read the rest here: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/facts/fm0163.htm

Quick survey: top 3 formational needs of Filipino Christians

Kindly answer this quick survey on the Divorce between Christian faith and Real-life:

What do you think are the top three formational needs (or faith-moral failings) of Filipino Christians, which if effectively addressed will have the greatest impact on Filipinos' personal and social life?

1.

2.

3.

I will post here a summary of the replies.

I sent this out via email last October 2. As of today, October 8, there have been replies from around 70 plus people, including Archbishop Soc Villegas, Frank Padilla Servant-General of CFCFFL, a member of a Secular Order of Carmelites, Theology Professor of Ateneo, Dr. Bernardo Villegas and Dr. Jesus Estanislao, Theology Professor of Don Bosco, JC de los Reyes, the former presidential candidate of Kapatiran, etc.

Basis of Philippine Claim to the Scarborough Shoal

A short contribution to Wikipedia. Thanks to Jemy Gatdula for explaining these points to me. 

The Philippines claim is based on the juridical criteria established by public international law on the lawful methods for the acquisition of sovereignty. Among the criteria (effective occupation, cession, prescription,conquest, and accretion), the Philippines said that the country "exercised both effective occupation and effective jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc since its independence." Thus, it claims to have erected flags in some islands and a lighthouse which it reported to the International Maritime Organization. It also asserts that the Philippine and US Naval Forces have used it as impact range and that its Department of Environment and Natural Resources has conducted scientific, topographic and marine studies in the shoal, while Filipino fishermen regularly use it as fishing ground and have always considered it their own.
It said that "The name Bajo de Masinloc (translated as "under Masinloc") itself identifies the shoal as a particular political subdivision of the Philippine Province of Zambales, known as Masinloc." As basis, the Philippines cites the Island of Palmas Case, where the sovereignty of the island was adjudged by the international court in favor of the Netherlands because of its effective jurisdiction and control over the island despite the historic claim of Spain. Thus, the Philippines argues that the historic claim of China over the Scarborough Shoal still needs to be substantiated by a historic title, since a claim by itself is not among the internationally recognized legal basis for acquiring sovereignty over territory.
It also asserts that "there is no indication that the international community has acquiesced to China's so-called historical claim," and that the activity of fishing of private Chinese individuals, claimed to be a "traditional" exercise among these waters, does not constitute a sovereign act of the Chinese State.
Since the legal basis of its claim is based on the international law on acquisition of sovereignty, the Philippine government explains that its Exclusive Economic Zone claim on the waters around Scarborough is different from the sovereignty exercised by the Philippines in the shoal.

Reawakening enthusiasm for real-life practice of faith: CBCP Pastoral Letter on the Era of New Evangelization, 9 July 2012

A few days ago, the CBCP announced a nine year "spiritual journey" towards the 500th year anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines on 16 March 1521 with the arrival of Magellan.

This spiritual journey, focused on the New Evangelization, seeks to reawaken enthusiasm for the "real-life practice" of the faith. It is a beautiful way to be faithfully aligned with the desires of the Pope who just declared a Year of Faith. Thus, the journey starts on 21 October 2012, ten days after the start of the Year of Faith, and ends on 16 March 2021, a Jubilee Year.

These are exciting times.

Read the document here.

CBCP Pastoral Letter on the Era of New Evangelization

LIVE CHRIST, SHARE CHRIST

Looking Forward to Our Five Hundredth

Go and make disciples... (Mt. 28:19)

We look forward with gratitude and joy to March 16, 2021, the fifth centenary of the coming of Christianity to our beloved land. We remember with thanksgiving the first Mass celebrated in Limasawa Island on Easter Sunday March 31 that same blessed year. We remember the baptism of Rajah Humabon who was given his Christian name Carlos and his wife Hara Amihan who was baptized Juana in 1521. Our eyes gaze on the Santo Niño de Cebu, the oldest religious icon in the Philippines, gift of Ferdinand Magellan to the first Filipino Catholics that same year. Indeed the year 2021 will be a year of great jubilee for the Church in the Philippines.

We shall therefore embark on a nine-year spiritual journey that will culminate with the great jubilee of 2021. It is a grace-filled event of blessings for the Church starting October 21, 2012 until March 16, 2021.

How opportune indeed that on October 21 this year, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI will add another Filipino to the canon of saints of the Church, our very own Visayan proto-martyr Pedro Calungsod who gave his life for the faith on the morning of April 2, 1672 in Guam.

The canonization of Pedro Calungsod will take place under the brilliant light of the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the twentieth year of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the declaration of the Year of Faith from October 11, 2012 until November 24, 2013 by the Holy Father. The XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops with the theme “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith” will take place in Rome from October 7 to 28 this year.

FAITH AND EVANGELIZATION

All these events happening this year are bound together by the themes of “faith” and “evangelization”. Evangelization indicates proclamation, transmission and witnessing to the Gospel given to humanity by our Lord Jesus Christ and the opening up of people’s lives, society, culture and history to the Person of Jesus Christ and to His living community, the Church.

This “New Evangelization” is primarily addressed to those who have drifted from the Faith and from the Church in traditionally Catholic countries, especially in the West.

What we are being called to do by this task of “New Evangelization” in Asia is to consider anew “the new methods and means for transmitting the Good News” more effectively to our people. We are challenged anew to foster in the Church in our country a renewed commitment and enthusiasm in living out the Gospel in all the diverse areas of our lives, in “real-life practice”, challenged anew to become more and more authentic witnesses of our faith, especially to our Asian neighbors as a fruit of our intensified intimacy with the Lord.

WHAT WILL THIS ERA OF NEW EVANGELIZATION FOR THE PHILIPPINES CONSIST OF?

The task stands on four pillars:

First, fostering and fulfilling the “missio ad gentes”, as a special vocation of the Church in our country, effectively involving our laypeople, our “Christifideles” brothers and sisters; our priests and seminarians; men and women in consecrated life.

Secondly, “bringing Good News to the poor.” Again and again, Filipino Catholics coming together to discern priorities, have seen that the Church here must become genuinely “a Church for and with the poor.”

Thirdly, reaching out to those among us whose faith-life has been largely eroded and even lost due to the surrounding confusion, moral relativism, doubt, agnosticism; reaching out to those who have drifted from the Faith and the Church, and have joined other religious sects.

Lastly, awakening or reawakening in faith, forming and animating in Christian life our young people and youth sector groups, in both urban and rural settings; A nine-year journey for the New Evangelization has already been charted climaxing with the Jubilee Year 2021: Integral Faith Formation (2013); the Laity (2014); the Poor (2015); the Eucharist and of the Family (2016); the Parish as a Communion of Communities (2017); the Clergy and Religious (2018); the Youth (2019); Ecumenism and Inter-Religious Dialogue (2020); Missio ad gentes (2021). These are the nine pastoral priorities of the Church in the Philippines.

In the time before us, we will focus on these dimensions of faith, evangelization and discipleship, one by one. And it is most propitious that as we received the faith 500 years ago, so with the Year 2021we envision to become a truly sending Church.

In the face of a secularism which in some parts of our present world has itself become a kind of a “dominant religion”, in the face of the reality of billions who live in our time and who have not truly encountered Jesus Christ nor heard of His Gospel, how challenged we are, how challenged we must be, to enter into the endeavor of the “New Evangelization”! We for whom Jesus has been and is truly the Way, the Truth and the Life, -- how can we not want and long and share Him with brothers and sisters around us who are yet to know and love Him, who are yet to receive the fullness of Life for which we have all been created, and without which their hearts will be ever restless – until they find Jesus and His heart which awaits them?

May our Lady, Mary Mother of Our Lord, lead us all in our longing and labors to bring her son Jesus Christ into our time and our world, our Emmanuel – our God who remains with us now and yet whose coming again in glory we await.

Maranatha, AMEN.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:

+ JOSE S. PALMA, D.D. Archbishop of Cebu President July 9, 2012

Social Costs of Pornography: A Statement of Findings and Recommendations

By Mary Eberstadt and Mary Anne Layden

Source: http://www.internetsafety101.org/upload/file/Social%20Costs%20of%20Pornography%20Report.pdf

FINDING ONE Unlike at any other time in history, pornography is now available and consumed widely in our society, due in large part to the internet. No one remains untouched by it.

FINDING TWO There is abundant empirical evidence that this pornography is qualitatively different from any that has gone before, in several ways: its ubiquity, the use of increasingly realistic streaming images, and the increasingly “hard-core” character of what is consumed.

FINDING THREE Today’s consumption of internet pornography can harm women in particular.

--Women typically feel betrayal, loss, mistrust,devastation, and anger as a result of the discovery of a partner’s pornography use and/or online sexual activity.

--A markedly increased likelihood of divorce and break-up

--Heightened health risks as a result of the increased likelihood of the consumer’s exposure to other partners.

FINDING FOUR Today’s consumption of internet pornography can harm children in particular.

FINDING FIVE Today’s consumption of internet pornography can harm people not immediately connected to consumers of pornography.

--HARM TO VICTIMS OF SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

--HARM TO FEMALE ADOLESCENTS

--HARM TO ALL OF SOCIETY RESULTING FROM THE BREAKDOWN OF FAMILIES

FINDING SIX The consumption of internet pornography can harm its consumers.

--PORNOGRAPHY USE UNDERMINES MARITAL AND OTHER INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS.

--PORNOGRAPHY USE CAN MAKE MEN SEXUALLY INCOMPETENT WITH A REAL PARTNER.

--PORNOGRAPHY USE APPEARS TO BE FOR SOME A SLIPPERY SLOPE UPON WHICH THE CONSUMER FINDS HIMSELF ULTIMATELY DRAWN TO INCREASINGLY “EDGY” MATERIAL.

--PORNOGRAPHY USE IS GENERATING A SERIES OF COTTAGE INDUSTRIES AS SOME USERS ATTEMPT TO CURTAIL OR CEASE THEIR CONSUMPTION. THESE INDUSTRIES PROVE THAT SOME USERS PERCEIVE THEMSELVES TO BE HARMED BY SUCH CONSUMPTION.

FINDING SEVEN Pornography consumption is philosophically and morally problematic.

FINDING EIGHT The fact that not everyone is harmed by pornography does not entail that pornography should not be regulated.

Why Conservatives Are Happier Than Liberals

By ARTHUR C. BROOKS, Published: July 7, 2012, in the New York Times

WHO is happier about life — liberals or conservatives? The answer might seem straightforward. After all, there is an entire academic literature in the social sciences dedicated to showing conservatives as naturally authoritarian, dogmatic, intolerant of ambiguity, fearful of threat and loss, low in self-esteem and uncomfortable with complex modes of thinking. And it was the candidate Barack Obama in 2008 who infamously labeled blue-collar voters “bitter,” as they “cling to guns or religion.” Obviously, liberals must be happier, right?

Wrong. Scholars on both the left and right have studied this question extensively, and have reached a consensus that it is conservatives who possess the happiness edge. Many data sets show this. For example, the Pew Research Center in 2006 reported that conservative Republicans were 68 percent more likely than liberal Democrats to say they were “very happy” about their lives. This pattern has persisted for decades. The question isn’t whether this is true, but why.

Many conservatives favor an explanation focusing on lifestyle differences, such as marriage and faith.

Read the rest here.

Arthur C. Brooks is the president of the American Enterprise Institute and the author of “The Road to Freedom” and “Gross National Happiness.”

Dramatic rise in premarital sex due to contraception or RH: From 6% in 1900 to 75% of women today!

Three out of four women are now engaging in premarital sex in the US compared with only 6% in 1900 due to contraceptive technology, according to a University of Pennsylvania research.

Social Change: The Sexual Revolution.

Greenwood, Jeremy and Nezih Guner. 2009.

University of Pennsylvania

Abstract

In 1900 only six percent of unwed females engaged in premarital sex. Now, three quarters do.

The sexual revolution is studied here using an equilibrium matching model, where the costs of premarital sex fall over time due to technological improvement in contraceptives.

1 Introduction

There may be no better illustration of social change than the sexual revolution that occurred during the 20th century. In 1900 almost no unmarried teenage girl engaged in premarital sex; only a paltry 6 percent By 2002 a large majority (roughly 75 percent) had experienced this. What caused this: the contraception revolution. (Sources for the U.S. data displayed in all …figures and tables are detailed in the Appendix, Section 12.5.)

Both the technology for contraception and education about its practice changed dramatically over the course of the last century.

Another reflection of the change in sexual mores is the rise in the number of sexual partners that unmarried females have. For women born between 1933 and 1942, the majority of those who engaged in premarital sex had only one partner by age 20, presumably their future husband. By the 1963-1972 cohort, the majority of these women had at least 2 partners.

Notwithstanding the great improvement in contraception technology and education, the number of out-of-wedlock births to females rose from 3 percent in 1920 to 33 percent in 1999. Despite great public concern about teenage sexual behavior in recent years, there has not been any attempt to build formal models of it. The current work will attempt to fill this void.

PDF FILE HERE: http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=psc_working_papers&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com.ph%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Duniverssity%2520of%2520pennsylvania%2520sexual%2520revolution%2520social%2520change%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D2%26ved%3D0CFYQFjAB%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Frepository.upenn.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1011%2526context%253Dpsc_working_papers%26ei%3DcKnvT6ywG8n-mAX1w9zJDQ%26usg%3DAFQjCNE44de13aJ11aialAM-Izk46MTaMQ#search=%22universsity%20pennsylvania%20sexual%20revolution%20social%20change%22

Spirituality of Work according to John Paul II

In Laborem Excercens (John Paul II) 25. Work as a Sharing in the Activity of the Creator As the Second Vatican Council says, "throughout the course of the centuries, men have laboured to better the circumstances of their lives through a monumental amount of individual and collective effort. To believers, this point is settled: considered in itself, such human activity accords with God's will. For man, created to God's image, received a mandate to subject to himself the earth and all that it contains, and to govern the world with justice and holiness; a mandate to relate himself and the totality of things to him who was to be acknowledged as the Lord and Creator of all. Thus, by the subjection of all things to man, the name of God would be wonderful in all the earth"27. The word of God's revelation is profoundly marked by the fundamental truth that man, created in the image of God, shares by his work in the activity of the Creator and that, within the limits of his own human capabilities, man in a sense continues to develop that activity, and perfects it as he advances further and further in the discovery of the resources and values contained in the whole of creation. We find this truth at the very beginning of Sacred Scripture, in the Book of Genesis, where the creation activity itself is presented in the form of "work" done by God during "six days"28, "resting" on the seventh day29. Besides, the last book of Sacred Scripture echoes the same respect for what God has done through his creative "work" when it proclaims: "Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty"30; this is similar to the Book of Genesis, which concludes the description of each day of creation with the statement: "And God saw that it was good"31. This description of creation, which we find in the very first chapter of the Book of Genesis, is also in a sense the first "gospel of work". For it shows what the dignity of work consists of: it teaches that man ought to imitate God, his Creator, in working, because man alone has the unique characteristic of likeness to God. Man ought to imitate God both in working and also in resting, since God himself wished to present his own creative activity under the form of work and rest. This activity by God in the world always continues, as the words of Christ attest: "My Father is working still ..."32: he works with creative power by sustaining in existence the world that he called into being from nothing, and he works with salvific power in the hearts of those whom from the beginning he has destined for "rest"33 in union with himself in his "Father's house"34. Therefore man's work too not only requires a rest every "seventh day"35), but also cannot consist in the mere exercise of human strength in external action; it must leave room for man to prepare himself, by becoming more and more what in the will of God he ought to be, for the "rest" that the Lord reserves for his servants and friends36. Awareness that man's work is a participation in God's activity ought to permeate, as the Council teaches, even "the most ordinary everyday activities. For, while providing the substance of life for themselves and their families, men and women are performing their activities in a way which appropriately benefits society. They can justly consider that by their labour they are unfolding the Creator's work, consulting the advantages of their brothers and sisters, and contributing by their personal industry to the realization in history of the divine plan"37. This Christian spirituality of work should be a heritage shared by all. Especially in the modern age, the spirituality of work should show the maturity called for by the tensions and restlessness of mind and heart. "Far from thinking that works produced by man's own talent and energy are in opposition to God's power, and that the rational creature exists as a kind of rival to the Creator, Christians are convinced that the triumphs of the human race are a sign of God's greatness and the flowering of his own mysterious design. For the greater man's power becomes, the farther his individual and community responsibility extends. ... People are not deterred by the Christian message from building up the world, or impelled to neglect the welfare of their fellows. They are, rather, more stringently bound to do these very things"38. The knowledge that by means of work man shares in the work of creation constitutes the most profound motive for undertaking it in various sectors. "The faithful, therefore", we read in the Constitution Lumen Gentium, "must learn the deepest meaning and the value of all creation, and its orientation to the praise of God. Even by their secular activity they must assist one another to live holier lives. In this way the world will be permeated by the spirit of Christ and more effectively achieve its purpose in justice, charity and peace... Therefore, by their competence in secular fields and by their personal activity, elevated from within by the grace of Christ, let them work vigorously so that by human labour, technical skill, and civil culture created goods may be perfected according to the design of the Creator and the light of his Word"39. 26. Christ , the Man of Work The truth that by means of work man participates in the activity of God himself, his Creator, was given particular prominence by Jesus Christ-the Jesus at whom many of his first listeners in Nazareth "were astonished, saying, 'Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him?.. Is not this the carpenter?'"40. For Jesus not only proclaimed but first and foremost fulfilled by his deeds the "gospel", the word of eternal Wisdom, that had been entrusted to him. Therefore this was also "the gospel of work", because he who proclaimed it was himself a man of work, a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth41. And if we do not find in his words a special command to work-but rather on one occasion a prohibition against too much anxiety about work and life42- at the same time the eloquence of the life of Christ is unequivocal: he belongs to the "working world", he has appreciation and respect for human work. It can indeed be said that he looks with love upon human work and the different forms that it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a particular facet of man's likeness with God, the Creator and Father. Is it not he who says: "My Father is the vinedresser"43, and in various ways puts into his teaching the fundamental truth about work which is already expressed in the whole tradition of the Old Testament, beginning with the Book of Genesis? The books of the Old Testament contain many references to human work and to the individual professions exercised by man: for example, the doctor44, the pharmacist45, the craftsman or artist46, the blacksmith47-we could apply these words to today's foundry-workers-the potter48, the farmer49, the scholar50, the sailor51, the builder52, the musician53, the shepherd54, and the fisherman55. The words of praise for the work of women are well known56. In his parables on the Kingdom of God Jesus Christ constantly refers to human work: that of the shepherd57, the farmer58, the doctor59, the sower60, the householder61, the servant62, the steward63, the fisherman64, the merchant65, the labourer66. He also speaks of the various form of women's work67. He compares the apostolate to the manual work of harvesters68 or fishermen69. He refers to the work of scholars too70. This teaching of Christ on work, based on the example of his life during his years in Nazareth, finds a particularly lively echo in the teaching of the Apostle Paul. Paul boasts of working at his trade (he was probably a tent-maker)71, and thanks to that work he was able even as an Apostle to earn his own bread72. "With toil and labour we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you"73. Hence his instructions, in the form of exhortation and command, on the subject of work: "Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living", he writes to the Thessalonians74. In fact, noting that some "are living in idleness ... not doing any work"75, the Apostle does not hesitate to say in the same context: "If any one will not work, let him not eat"76. In another passage he encourages his readers: "Whatever your task, work heartly, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward"77. The teachings of the Apostle of the Gentiles obviously have key importance for the morality and spirituality of human work. They are an important complement to the great though discreet gospel of work that we find in the life and parables of Christ, in what Jesus "did and taught"78. On the basis of these illuminations emanating from the Source himself, the Church has always proclaimed what we find expressed in modern terms in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council: "Just as human activity proceeds from man, so it is ordered towards man. For when a man works he not only alters things and society, he develops himself as well. He learns much, he cultivates his resources, he goes outside of himself and beyond himself. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is of greater value than any external riches which can be garnered ... Hence, the norm of human activity is this: that in accord with the divine plan and will, it should harmonize with the genuine good of the human race, and allow people as individuals and as members of society to pursue their total vocation and fulfil it"79. Such a vision of the values of human work, or in other words such a spirituality of work, fully explains what we read in the same section of the Council's Pastoral Constitution with regard to the right meaning of progress: "A person is more precious for what he is than for what he has. Similarly, all that people do to obtain greater justice, wider brotherhood, and a more humane ordering of social relationships has greater worth than technical advances. For these advances can supply the material for human progress, but of themselves alone they can never actually bring it about"80. This teaching on the question of progress and development-a subject that dominates presentday thought-can be understood only as the fruit of a tested spirituality of human work; and it is only on the basis of such a spirituality that it can be realized and put into practice. This is the teaching, and also the programme, that has its roots in "the gospel of work". 27. Human Work in the Light of the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ There is yet another aspect of human work, an essential dimension of it, that is profoundly imbued with the spirituality based on the Gospel. All work, whether manual or intellectual, is inevitably linked with toil. The Book of Genesis expresses it in a truly penetrating manner: the original blessing of work contained in the very mystery of creation and connected with man's elevation as the image of God is contrasted with the curse that sin brought with it: "Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life"81. This toil connected with work marks the way of human life on earth and constitutes an announcement of death: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken"82. Almost as an echo of these words, the author of one of the Wisdom books says: "Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it"83. There is no one on earth who could not apply these words to himself. In a sense, the final word of the Gospel on this matter as on others is found in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ. It is here that we must seek an answer to these problems so important for the spirituality of human work. The Paschal Mystery contains the Cross of Christ and his obedience unto death, which the Apostle contrasts with the disobedience which from the beginning has burdened man's history on earth84. It also contains the elevation of Christ, who by means of death on a Cross returns to his disciples in the Resurrection with the power of the Holy Spirit. Sweat and toil, which work necessarily involves the present condition of the human race, present the Christian and everyone who is called to follow Christ with the possibility of sharing lovingly in the work that Christ came to do85. This work of salvation came about through suffering and death on a Cross. By enduring the toil of work in union with Christ crucified for us, man in a way collaborates with the Son of God for the redemption of humanity. He shows himself a true disciple of Christ by carrying the cross in his turn every day86 in the activity that he is called upon to perform. Christ, "undergoing death itself for all of us sinners, taught us by example that we too must shoulder that cross which the world and the flesh inflict upon those who pursue peace and justice"; but also, at the same time, "appointed Lord by his Resurrection and given all authority in heaven and on earth, Christ is nòw at work in people's hearts through the power of his Spirit... He animates, purifies, and strengthens those noble longings too, by which the human family strives to make its life more human and to render the whole earth submissive to this goal"87. The Christian finds in human work a small part of the Cross of Christ and accepts it in the same spirit of redemption in which Christ accepted his Cross for us. In work, thanks to the light that penetrates us from the Resurrection of Christ, we always find a glimmer of new life, of the new good, as if it were an announcement of "the new heavens and the new earth"88 in which man and the world participate precisely through the toil that goes with work. Through toil-and never without it. On the one hand this confirms the indispensability of the Cross in the spirituality of human work; on the other hand the Cross which this toil constitutes reveals a new good springing from work itself, from work understood in depth and in all its aspects and never apart from work. Is this new good-the fruit of human work-already a small part of that "new earth" where justice dwells89? If it is true that the many forms of toil that go with man's work are a small part of the Cross of Christ, what is the relationship of this new good to the Resurrection of Christ? The Council seeks to reply to this question also, drawing light from the very sources of the revealed word: "Therefore, while we are warned that it profits a man nothing if he gains the whole world and loses himself (cf. Lk 9: 25), the expectation of a new earth must not weaken but rather stimulate our concern for cultivating this one. For here grows the body of a new human family, a body which even now is able to give some kind of foreshadowing of the new age. Earthly progress must be carefully distinguished from the growth of Christ's kingdom. Nevertheless, to the extent that the former can contribute to the better ordering of human society, it is of vital concern to the Kingdom of God"90.

Year of Faith (11 Oct 2012-24 Nov 13): A Commentary on Porta Fidei of Benedict XVI

The Year of Faith (11 Oct 2012-24 Nov 2013) is a powerful opportunity to renew the entire Church.

You might find this useful: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/64318356/PORTA%20FIDEI.ppt

It's a commentary I made on the Pope's Porta Fidei, explaining the Year of Faith.

The Year of Faith is a singular opportunity we have to seize-- and prepare well for to maximize its impact! For this we have to know the mind of the Pope.

Carpe annum!

Visita Iglesia

You may download a free Visita Iglesia Guide here or here. (two forms).

This practice among Filipinos on Holy Thursday is rooted in a practice in Mexico (as most of our practices are), and in turn this Mexican practice is rooted in a Roman practice. After some search in the internet, I found this explanation which I thought was the most meaningful:


The Seven Churches Visitation or Visita a las Siete Casas in Mexico commemorates:

the stops (visits or stations) that were made by Jesus on his way to Calvary:

1st Visit: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22: 39-46)
2nd Visit: Jesus bound and taken before Annas (John 18: 19-22)
3rd Visit: Jesus taken before the High Priest, Caiaphas (Matthew 26: 63-65)
4th Visit: Jesus taken before Pilate (John 18,35-37)
5th Visit: Jesus taken before Herod (Luke 23: 8-9; 11)
6th Visit: Jesus taken before Pilate again (Matthew 27: 22-26)
7th Visit: Jesus given the crown of thorns and led to his crucifixion (Matthew 27: 27-31)

Upon entering the church one kneels, makes the sign of the cross, reads the above noted scriptures, reads a special meditation and ends with 5 Our Fathers, 5 Hail Marys and 5 Glorias. After this, one makes a personal reflection before moving on to the next church. In Mexico they sell small booklets outside the churches with the prayers to be used as a guideline. However, most eliminate the actual scripture leaving only the meditation (which may or may not coincide with the scripture). Many Mexican Catholics perform a “Holy Hour” (Hora Santa) after the last visit.

I translated a Visita Iglesia Guide and you can download it here or here. 

Source: http://jimmyakin.com/2005/02/seven_churches_.html

Other sources:
http://www.churchforum.org/visita-a-siete-casas-familia.htm - with a sample prayer in Spanish
http://www.archdioceseofanchorage.org/documents/HolyThur06Bklt.pdf - prayers in English
http://www.zenit.org/article-34584?l=english - a bit of history

How to renew the world

That's a big title. But Christians are here to do big things. For with God, nothing is impossible (Lk 1:37).

So how do we renew the world? By renewing the Church.

And how do we renew the Church?

The solution comes from the greatest analyzer of present-day affairs: Pope Ratzinger.

To a great extent, the renewal of the Church throughout the world depends on the renewal of the practice of Penance and the growth in holiness which that sacrament both inspires and accomplishes.

The liberating power of this sacrament needs to be rediscovered and owned once again by every Catholic.

Let's start in our beloved Catholic country: let each Filipino Catholic rediscover the liberating power of Confession, so we can renew the Church and the world. That's our mission.

To help in this renewal, you might want to spread the use of these leaflets: Confession: Simple Reasons, Simple Steps. In Filipino: Kumpisal: Simpleng Dahilan, Simpleng Paraan.

Chastity

by Mary Beth Bonacci in Stay Catholic

It’s not about avoiding teen pregnancy. It’s not about avoiding sexually transmitted diseases. It’s not even about preventing AIDS. All of those goals are good, mind you. But the concept of chastity is about so much more. Chastity is, quite simply, about finding and living real love. It is about living our human sexuality the way it was designed to be lived, and in the process putting that sexuality at the service of real, authentic love.

Chastity is the radical notion that sex has a meaning. It speaks a language -- the language of self-gift. Everything about sex is about permanence. It says, "I give myself to you. And I give to you my potential offspring, knowing that if a child is conceived, you and I will always be together to raise and form this product of our love." Sex brings new life into the world. New souls, destined to live forever, come into the world through the love of a man and a woman, through their sexual union. And that fact alone makes it a sacred, holy act.

Our bodies conspire in a myriad of ways to make sex a permanent, self-giving act. Hormonally, sexual arousal and intercourse set off a chain reaction designed to keep married couples bound together. Women experience a flood of oxytocin -- the same hormone which they produce in labor and in nursing a baby. Oxytocin causes a woman to be forgetful, decreases her ability to think rationally -- and causes an incredibly strong emotional attachment to form with the man she is with. Men also produce some oxytocin during sexual intercourse. But their bodies also produce a hormone called vasopressin. Vasopressin, called "the monogamy molecule," kicks in after sexual activity, and its impact is to heighten a man’s sense of responsibility. It encourages that part of him which says, "My gosh, she may be carrying my child! I’d better get serious about life! I’ve got to get to work, to provide for this family!"

Sex flourishes in the context of permanence. It speaks the language of marriage. Within a marriage, it’s an incredibly powerful expression of self-giving love. It helps to bind a couple together, for better or for worse. It’s an instrument of the grace of matrimony. It helps a husband and a wife live out their commitment to each other.

But what about sex outside of marriage? Simply put, it’s speaking the language of the body in a lie. It’s physically saying, "I give myself to you forever" when that is not in fact the case. It is putting the other person at physical risk -- of pregnancy and of disease. It is, more importantly, putting the other person at emotional and spiritual risk -- allowing a bond to form with no commitment to back it up. It puts relationships at risk, by creating uneven and inconsistent levels of communication. The body is saying one thing, but the relationship says something else. Love means wanting what is best for the other person. Real Love would never put the other at any kind of risk. But sex outside marriage does just that -- it puts one’s "beloved" at significant risk. And that, my friends, is not real love.

Chastity -- respecting the language of sex and saving sexual expression for marriage -- frees us to find real love. It helps to insure that our dates care about us for ourselves, and not just as a way for them to find sexual satisfaction for themselves. It weeds out those who would use us. And it helps to insure that we treat our dates as the images and likenesses of God that they are!

Chastity is the way -- the only way -- to find and live real love. And isn’t that what we’re all looking for, anyway?

Vast re-evangelization: some keys

A key to vast re-evangelization is to turn those who actually go to church into zealous evangelizers.

Those who go to church have to frequently hear these truths:

1. The Command of Christ, his last words on earth: "Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you."

If we are to teach Christians to follow all of Christ's commands, we should never miss to include his last and most crucial command: Go and make disciples, the very continuation of his divine mission to save all men. It's a command, an imperative command --not a request nor a mere plea-- that is self-perpetuating and self-multiplying.

2. CBCP's Catechism for Filipino Catholics: Today, we realize that "each disciple of Christ has the obligation of spreading the faith to the best of his ability" (LG 17) PCP II asserts: "All are called to mission...all --without exception-- are called to evangelize." (PCP II 402) (bold in the original)

Take note it says, Today we realize... This shows how the church has been cleric-centered in its approach to evangelization for some time. It is up to us today to be thoroughly faithful to Christ's commissioning of the laity into his saving work.

3. Catechism of the Catholic Church:

> The Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well. - CCC 863

> "To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer. ...Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization." - CCC 904

> The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. - CCC 2472. This discussion of the 8th commandment in the CCC shows that evangelization, apostolate, is a clear obligation.

Second, the laity have to allow grace into their life, because only the grace of God is capable of bringing people to his divine level. If Christians are not habitually in the state of grace, if do not have the life of Christ in their soul, no evangelization can take place. Thus, Benedict XVI has lately said that the beginning of all evangelization is confession. The premise of a vast re-evangelization is a vast evangelization on the healing and sanctifying power of confession. A powerpoint presentation, entitled Sin and Confession, can be found in this dropbox link.

Lay leaders, influential Catholics and priests have to keep on reminding Christians --other Christs!-- of these fundamental truths, if we want the new evangelization to take place.

Of course, these truths are not enough to turn Christians into evangelizers. They need to study Christ's revelation so they can truly fall in love with Christ and transmit all of his teachings to others. Here below are some internet resources for this work.

Resources:

> Course of Catechesis in Catholic Doctrine - 60 powerpoint presentation on the Catechism of the Catholic Church
> Beginning Catholic
> Catholic Home Study Service
> Explore your Faith

Science Facts on Contraception

Download the flyer here. 

The world’s leading scientific experts and extensive research found in peer-reviewed science journals have already resolved the key questions surrounding the use of contraceptives.

1. The pill and the IUD kill children.
When does human life begin? At fertilization, when the sperm penetrates the egg. This was the “overwhelming agreement in countless scientific writings”, and of top experts (including scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic) at an eight day hearing of the US Senate.

Do birth control pills and the IUD kill the young human being? Yes, the pill also kills the young baby when the contraceptive effect fails, according to the scientific journal of the American Medical Association. The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of 2005 pronounced that the intrauterine device brings about the “destruction of the early embryo.”

2. The pill injures women’s health.
Is the pill safe? The International Agency for Research on Cancer in a 2007 study made by 21 scientists reported that the pill causes cancer, giving it the highest level of carcinogenicity, the same as cigarettes and asbestos. A 2010 study showed that it “carries an excess risk of breast cancer.” It also causes stroke, and significantly increases the risk of heart attacks. Several scientific journals have stated that the natural way of regulating births has no side-effects, and is 99 % effective.

3. Wide use of contraceptives destroys the family.
Will the greater availability of contraception improve the stability of families? Wide contraceptive use leads to more premarital sex, more fatherless children, more single mothers, more abortions, according to the studies of Nobel prize winner, George Akerlof.

4. Wide contraceptive use leads to greater poverty.
Is contraceptive use correlated with poverty? Since widespread contraception increases the number of fatherless children and single mothers, it is linked with greater poverty. In a separate article, Akerlof concluded that contraception leads to a decline of marriage, less domesticated men, more crimes and more social pathology and thus more poverty.

Isn’t population control connected with economic development?
“No clear association” is the answer of Simon Kuznets, Nobel Prize winner in the science of economics. Many later studies confirmed this, including a 2003 study of the RAND Corporation, a world leader in research associated with 30 Nobel Prize winners.

5. Wide condom use promotes the spread of AIDS.
Will the use of condoms lower the rate of HIV/AIDS in a country? It will increase it, according to the “best studies”, concluded Harvard Director for AIDS Prevention, Edward C. Green. Availability of condoms makes people willing to take greater sexual risk, thus worsening the spread of the disease. He showed that fidelity and abstinence are the best solutions to the AIDS epidemic.

Help dispel ignorance of these science facts. Make copies and pass on to many, including our leaders. TODAY!

This one-page flyer is based on Science Facts on the RH Bills, whose first version was written in November 2010.

Benefits of All-boys and All-girls Schools: Q&A on what the best research says

By Dr. Raul Nidoy
Parents for Education Foundation (PAREF)
Association for Single-Sex Education in Asia (ASSEA)

Download the article in brochure form here.


Are there benefits to single-sex schooling?

The best research on this topic was sponsored by the U.S. government in 2005. The research demonstrated “a single-sex school advantage by far” over coed schools.

Do those results refer to academics?

Yes, they found better results in math, science, English, and social studies achievement. But advantages extend to social and emotional development of the children too.

But isn’t this just one study?

The U.S. study is a meta-analysis covering 2221 studies worldwide. Subsequent studies confirm the findings. A 2017 Australian research found that students in these single-sex schools “are significantly more likely to outperform students in coeducational schools in reading and numeracy.” A 2018 study in Los Angeles showed advantages in many aspects of education.

That’s quite impressive. Do they explain why girls’ schools and boys’ schools are better?

There are more than a dozen reasons! For one, teachers observe that there are less distractions. Children are prone to distraction. What more when they are with the other sex who have a different learning style, and who can catch their attention. 

In single-sex schools children compete on fairer grounds. Girls develop faster than boys, and boys can easily get discouraged when faced with such competition. Then boys can pull down the performance of the girls.

But aren’t the kids helped by the presence of the opposite sex to behave better?

Not in the majority of cases. Based on studies, when kids of the same sex are together, they give themselves more mutual support, a sense of community and greater confidence. Thus, they participate more and are more engaged.

Won’t coed schools make children more well-rounded?

The opposite is true. Coed schools tend to perpetuate stereotypes of girls as good in creative arts and boys as strong in math, science and leadership. In single-sex schools, teachers can address the unique needs and interests of the students, making them strong in areas where they are usually weak. This is another explanation why students in single-sex schools perform better in academics.

Let’s not forget too that children don’t want to appear having some of the good habits of the other sex, lest they be teased as being girlish or boyish.

But isn’t it that kids get inspired by the opposite sex to study harder?

Again, you are talking about exceptions. In most cases, based on recent research findings, the effect of the interaction between the two sexes means less homework done, less enjoyment of school, lower reading and math scores.

You mentioned earlier that there are social and emotional advantages.

U.S. government research points to less sexual harassment, less delinquency and other student behavior problems, more community involvement, more positive self-concept among children, more positive student role models, more leadership opportunities, and higher career aspirations. Children in these schools put more value on grades and leadership rather than on attractiveness and money. These schools also allow for more opportunities for social and moral guidance.

I am concerned that my high schooler will not learn how to deal with the opposite sex.

As you might already have observed, the alumni of the top single-sex schools of this country are very capable of dealing with the other sex, and in fact they are known to have an edge on the basis of their culture, manners, and self-confidence. Boys’ schools and girls’ schools have the privileged condition of providing age and gender-appropriate guidance and social skills training to their students.

One of my concerns is that my children go to the best colleges.

Your child will have better chances to achieve that through a single-sex school. There was a randomized experiment done on this in Korea, whose results were published on January 2012. A randomized experiment is the most reliable evidence in all scientific research, since it eliminates bias and pre-selection. The study found that 45% of boys from single-sex schools entered college compared with only 39% of the boys from coed schools. For the girls, it’s 44% of girls from all-girls schools and 40% of girls from coed schools. So the research concluded that “Attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools rather than attending coeducational schools is significantly associated with higher average scores.”

Could it be that single-sex schools are effective because well-to-do students enroll there?

Another surprise: Four studies have actually found that these type of schools “are significantly favorable for students who are historically or traditionally disadvantaged--minorities and/or low and working class and/or at-risk students.”

But if all of this is true, why isn’t single-sex schooling the mainstream way of educating the kids?

The news has not yet spread. That’s the reason behind this Q&A! And for your information, there is a revival of single-sex schools even in the public schools in the U.S. From only 4 single-sex public schools in 1998, there were already 540 such schools by 2010. An expert said that “21st Century education will be single-sex schooling.”

References:

1. Mael, F., Alonso, A., Gibson, G., Rogers, K., & Smith, M., (2005). Single-sex versus Coeducational Schooling: A Systematic Review. Washington D.C. http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/other/single-sex/single-sex.pdf
2. Riordan, C. (2007). The Effects of Single Sex Schools: What Do We Know? Building Gender-Sensitive Schools: First International Congress on Single Sex Education. Barcelona.http://www.easse.org/docs/1209565580_Congreso%204.07.%20Ponencias%20y%20comunicaciones.pdf
3. Riordan, C., Faddis, B., Beam, M, Seager, A., Tanney, A., DiBiase R., Ruffin M., Valentine, J. (2008). Early Implementation of Public Single-Sex Schools: Perceptions and Characteristics. Washington D.C. http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/other/single-sex/characteristics/characteristics.pdf
4. Riordan, C. (2009). The Effects of Single Sex Schools: Alced. Argentina. http://www.alcedargentina.com.ar/images/libroponencias.pdf
5. Park, H. , Behrman, J, Choi,, J .(2012) Causal Effects of Single-Sex Schools on College Entrance Exams and College Attendance: Random Assignment in Seoul High Schools. Philadelphia, PA. University of Pennsylvania, PSC Working Paper Series.
6. Martin, A. J., Marsh, H. W., McInerney, D. M., Green, J. Young People’s Interpersonal Relationships and Academic and Nonacademic Outcomes: Scoping the Relative Salience of Teachers, Parents, Same-Sex Peers, and Opposite Sex Peers. Teachers College Record. March 23, 2009, 1-6. http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=15593

Download the article in brochure form here:  https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64318356/Benefits%20of%20Single%20%20Sex%20Education.doc

These one-page leaflets have started going viral around the world. One leaflet was posted in the website of the Archdiocese of Westminster in London ("The Mother Church of England"), in the Corpus Christi Parish in Canada,  in Kenya and in Macau. To get the full collection, please visit see this: One Page Leaflets for New Evangelization Starting to Go Viral!

You might also be interested in:

Giving Real Love to Your Child: an outline on how parents can educate their children in human sexuality

Strategies for a Great Family

Purity and the Best Remedy for Lust