Saint Oscar Romero

Pope Francis recently canonized two new saints of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Paul VI and Bishop Oscar Romero. At the time Romero was martyred in El Salvador, its social condition was much like ours in the Philippines under the Marcos Dictatorship.

One fateful day in March 1980 an assassin made sure a bullet blasted his heart as he raised the consecrated bread and wine. Not so unlike Fr. Richmond Nilo, a priest in Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen as he was about to start his usual Sunday Mass. Or, Fr. Mark Anthony Ventura who, in April 2018, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman after celebrating Mass in Gattaran, Cagayan; and Fr. Marcelito Paez who was gunned down by unidentified assailants in December 2017 after assisting in the release of a prisoner in the town of Jaen, Nueva Ecija.

When politicians tend to rely too much on the military to keep themselves in power, in the Philippines or elsewhere, there seems to be a pattern of killing members of the clergy, particularly Catholic priests, known for airing criticism, adding their voice against violence, violation of human rights and corruption.

Nevertheless, our country is not lacking examples of “rebel priests” who did go underground to stand for their brand of Christianity in solidarity with the poor and the oppressed. We had the likes of the late Conrado Balweg and Edicio de la Torre of the Society of the Divine Word. De la Torre has since left the revolutionary movement and opted to work as a married secular reformer in the field of alternative education and social development. Our very own, erstwhile Cabinet Secretary, Leoncio Evasco, Jr., himself met then Fiscal Rodrigo Duterte of Davao City as a political prisoner in the 1980s.

But make no mistake about it, Oscar Romero was not a rebel priest. He did not take up arms. He did not go underground. In fact, verified accounts have it that he was even critical of priests who joined protests and refused to wear the long cassock. His viewpoints however changed when his best friend-priest was killed while helping the poor. Not that he became a rebel, far from it. He simply became vocal. He began to call attention to the excesses of government as Fathers Nilo, Ventura and Paez did. They chose the path of nonviolence.

During the papacy of Benedict, the process of Romero’s canonization was deliberately slowed down since the conservative pontiff was afraid of the consequences if an activist bishop was declared a saint.

But Pope Francis is a different kind of leader. He walks his talk. He lives simply. He eats at the canteen, and rubs elbows with the downtrodden. He probably is a living saint. That is why he knows when he sees a genuine one, like Saint Oscar Romero.

Citizen Carpio

The President garnered praises this week when he spoke about our country’s victory over China at the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS. He attended an online conference of the UN when he “sort of” asserted our rights.

We say “sort of” because we all know that throughout his term the President usually kowtowed to what China wanted. We have become used to hearing our nation’s top leader sing praises for Communist China and Communist Russia while supposedly fighting local communists.

But an eighty-plus year-old nun in Quezon City sent me a private message saying the President should have given credit where credit is due. Sister was talking about Citizen Carpio. Yes, he is now a plain citizen.

Senior Associate Justice, and four-time Acting Chief Justice, Antonio Tirol Carpio is now a private citizen. He retired last year with a sterling voting record against politicians and corrupt officials, while favoring civil liberties, the environment, and most importantly, Philippine sovereignty versus the incursions of China. And yes, he is a cousin of the Tirols at my Alma Mater, the University of Bohol.

The point is, it was Antonio Carpio who consistently fought, then and now, for our sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea. The Philippine delegation won over China at the arbitration in July 2016 under the leadership of President Benigno Aquino III.

Part of the decision said, “The Tribunal found that China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone by (a) interfering with Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration, (b) constructing artificial islands and (c) failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone”. The legal victory was very clear.

We, Boholanos, should be proud of the fact that part of the delegation that went to court to fight for our rights was Attorney Elmar Balite Galacio, college Summa Cum Laude at my other alma mater, the Holy Name University. He is a luminary at Justice Carpio’s The Firm, and nephew of then Vice Governor Dionisio Balite.
Justice Carpio, who graduated valedictorian of his class at the UP College of Law, was never subservient to the strongman from Davao despite the fact that he himself is a Davaoeño. He was decorated with Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa by my college alma mater, the Ateneo de Davao University.

When Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was ousted through the efforts of the President’s and Marcos’ allies, Carpio was supposed to be the next in line. But the gentleman that he is, he said, “I will decline any nomination because I don’t want to benefit from the decision to which I disagreed”. There goes the best chief justice that we never had.

SPIRITUAL & POLITICAL CHRISTMAS

I can find no justification whatsoever for killing another human being. Life itself is sacred and every life is worthy of the utmost respect. In a war situation, which is a state of government-approved mass murder, some decision-makers set themselves above natural and moral laws. As individuals supporting governments and allowing such decisions to be made on our behalf, we are all guilty of war crimes. I cannot alienate myself from the teaching of the world’s great spiritual leaders – Buddha, Mohammed, and Jesus – whose messages clearly advocate reconciliation and peace. (Jo Vallentine)

If we make a survey of political systems we cannot but arrive at the generalization that human society is governed in turn by the priest-class (theocracy), the warrior-class (monarchy and aristocracy), the trader-class (plutocracy), and the labor-class (socialism). In each of these classes we find both good and bad sides. The bright side of the priest-rule was that it laid the foundation of all spiritual and secular knowledge, but it had the evil of upholding the exclusive rights and privileges of the priests for the achieving and imparting of knowledge. The rule by the warrior class was oppressive and tyrannical but not exclusive, for during their period the culture was shared by them with other classes. Under the rule by traders and capitalists the masses have been exploited and dominated, but the good aspect of this rule is that the accumulated culture of the preceding periods has been widely disseminated throughout the world during the course of their commercial enterprises and activities. We are now in the transition from trade-period to labor-period.

An ideal society would be one in the scheme of which the knowledge of the priest, the sharing of culture of the warrior, the broadcast spirit of the trader and the equalizing impulse of the worker could all be kept intact, bereft of their evil elements. (Swami Satyananda)

The changes required in our churches and government necessary to support the revolution needed in our international relations will not be easy to accomplish. But church and government leaders arise from the people and to a considerable extent do represent the people and reflect their cultural norms. The rules of government, therefore, can be substantially changed only when the rules by which the people relate to each other are substantially changed. Peacemaking ultimately must begin at grassroots level. It begins with you. (M. Scott Peck)

Merry CHRISTmas, everyone!

DEATH PENALTY IS EVIL

“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).

”Anyone who kills you thinks he is offering service to God…because they have not known the Father”. (John 16:2)

We vehemently oppose the reimposition of death penalty in our country’s judicial system. “From a purely analytical perspective, the death penalty might be justifiable if it deterred crime and saved lives, or if it resulted in a reduction in government costs. Studies have shown that it does neither of these things. The death penalty, therefore, can only be viewed as an institutional expression of revenge and retribution. Rather than focusing on the offender, it must be asked what the death penalty says about us as a society. Our nation cannot afford the death penalty; the cost, both morally and financially, is too high”. (Amanda and Nick Wilcox)

The United Nations Secretary General emphasized the “harsh reality” that the death penalty discriminates. "Study after study proves that if you are poor, minority or mentally disabled, you are at higher risk regardless of guilt or innocence”.

“The right to life—broadly understood as a right to be free from deadly violence, maiming, torture, and starvation—is paramount. The special status of life is reflected in the Ten Commandments. The Koran teaches that “if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind” (5:32). In the Jewish tradition, “He who saves one soul, it’s as if he saved the entire world” (Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:8 [37a]). Jews are commanded to violate the Sabbath and even the holiest of Jewish holidays, Atonement Day, if this is required to save a life. The Catholic Church extends this right to the unborn. The primacy of the right to life is well recognized in the following comments on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “The right to life, liberty and personal security, recognized in Article 3, sets the base for all following political rights and civil liberties, including freedom from slavery, torture and arbitrary arrest, as well as the rights to a fair trial, free speech and free movement and privacy” (United Nations 1998).

“Going deeper and beyond the Golden Rule that behooves us to ‘do unto others what we want others do unto us’, there are really no ‘others’, so whatever you seem to do to another you actually do to yourself. For in our fundamental oneness as humanity in the parenthood of one God, you and I are indeed one, identical with each other through our identity ultimately with the Ground of all being. Then how could I ever want to harm or do violence to myself? All beings desire their own well-being. I must therefore wish for you what I wish for myself, since we are one”. (John Algeo)

“THOU SHALL NOT KILL”. (Exodus 20:13)

HEALING PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I call on you right now in a special way. It is through your power that I was created. Every breath I take, every morning I wake, and every moment of every hour, I live under your power. Father, I ask you now to touch me with that same power. For if you created me from nothing, you can certainly recreate me. Fill me with the healing power of your spirit. Cast out anything that should not be in me. Mend what is broken. Root out any unproductive cells. Open any blocked arteries or veins and rebuild any damaged areas. Remove all inflammation and cleanse any infection. Let the warmth of your healing love pass through my body to make new any unhealthy areas so that my body will function the way you created it to function. And Father, restore me to full health in mind and body so that I may serve you for the rest of my life. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

WHO ARE THESE TWO BISHOPS ASKING PNOY TO RESIGN?

Bishop Ramon C. Arguelles, look into (http://www.equalizerpost.com/2013/11/pope-francis-have-you-heard-about.html) Bishop Romulo de la Cruz, see (http://www.polbits.com/2014/11/first-it-was-lipa-city-then-cebu-city.html) THESE TWO BISHOPS ARE “FRIENDS” OF EX-PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO (NOW JAILED FOR CORRUPTION). REMEMBER THE BISHOPS WHO RECEIVED MONEY AND NICE CARS FROM GMA? THEY BELONG TO A GROUP CALLED “National Transformation Council” led by GMA’s National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and ex-Senator and Opus Dei conservative (Marcos’ Secretary of Information) Francisco Tatad. All trying to bring down the present administration. HINDI NA NAKAPAGTATAKA!

Cojuangcos on a blitz to promote nuke power

"Nuclear power cannot really be justified on the grounds of environmental sustainability, largely due to its production of radioactive wastes that stay hazardous for millenia, and the risk of catastrophic nuclear accidents that can never be ruled out. Finally, from the point of view of social equity, nuclear power is an inefficient way to deliver energy to the hundreds of millions of people living in villages spread out over a vast countryside - the very people that policy makers disingenuously use to justify their nuclear policy". (quoted from an Al Jazeera article) Let Filipinos be warned!