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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| �New Breed of Leaders� By Antonio C. Abaya Written May 09, 2006 For the Standard Today, May 11 issue It was Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, current president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines who said in a lecture, said to be posted in his blogsite, that �Filipinos should combine their efforts and come up with �a new breed of leaders in our country.�� (Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 06, 2006). Archbishop Lagdameo is talking sense, more sense than most Church leaders, past or present. But because he does not have the personal charisma of Cardinal Sin, his statement is buried in an inside page, instead of on the front page, and the Insider does not even give his blogsite for readers who want to read his lecture in full. And no one else in media seems to have picked it up. A pity. Let me excerpt the Inquirer story (by Christian V. Esguerra) liberally for those who may have missed it: The problem, said Archbishop Lagdameo, is a concatenation of corruption that goes down to the barangay level, up and down and up, infecting the whole body politic like a contagious cancer.� �It deprives the poor of permanent shelter, health benefits, dignified employment and above all, sufficient food,� he said. To cure what he called a �social cancer�, Filipinos should combine their efforts and come up with �a new breed of leaders in our country.� Lagdameo was trying to rally the country behind a �new social order� in an apparent response to the seeming void created by the arrival and departure of politicians, all of whom appeared to be enslaved by traditional politics. This vision was contained in a �national roadmap� focused on �sowing the seeds of hope through moral values.� The strategy was consistent with the January CBCP pastoral letter that pointed to a crisis of moral values as the center of the problem in Philippine society today. Lagdameo said such a crisis seriously affected the poor who were �oftentimes exploited and treated like commodities.� �Graft and corruption have been flagrant and endemic, breeding poverty. Widespread poverty in turn breeds graft and corruption,� he said. Lagdameo said the roadmap asks all �drivers of change � meaning family, school, business enterprises, government units and all other sectors of society � what they could do for the common good of the national community. �In trying to answer this question, [the roadmap] strongly suggests that whatever answer we give must be fully consistent with the vision and mission we should have for our country and the core values that should underlie all aspects of our national life,� he said. A crucial first step would be to gather a �critical mass of like-minded and good-willed nationalists with a passion and obsession for good governance and prophetic leadership� from which a �new breed of statespersons� would be born, Lagdameo said. �This critical mass will be the training ground of other nationalists who will lead our country with the values of honesty and justice, truth and integrity, credibility and accountability, transparency and stewardship,� he said. End of excerpts from the Inquirer. Lagdameo�s call for �a new breed of leaders� is significant because, as president of the CBCP, he has the organizational reach and the moral clout to make it happen, if he chooses to make it happen. An examination of our political culture and the media environment in which it festers shows an incestuous relationship between the two. With very few exceptions, Philippine media give publicity and importance largely only to three groups � the trapos (both administration and opposition), the coup-plotters and the communists. Those who do not belong to any of these three categories are marginalized, sometimes given some publicity, but more often than not, ignored. And thus they are not factored into the political equation. They have no political weight, they do not have the resources or the temperament or the inclination to plot coups against anyone, and they do not know how to make the shrill, theatrical noises of the communists that the complicit Philippine media love to give front page column inches and TV sound bytes to. During the brouhaha attendant to the EDSA anniversary last February, these three groups � opposition trapos, coup-plotters and communists � apparently coalesced in yet another attempt to overthrow President Arroyo, and again failed. Failed mainly because the middle class, again, declined to join, even though many, even most, of them, do not have any love for Gloria Arroyo. It should be clear to everyone by now that the middle class dislike the opposition trapos, the mercenary coup-plotters and the tiresome communists, with equal measure. It is to this uncommitted middle class that Lagdamao and the CBCP should address their call for a �new breed of leaders�, because it may be from their ranks that this new breed of leaders may emerge. The Church has its own media outlets, it has its network of schools and parishes, that can provide the initial fora in which potential new leaders can articulate their positions, independent of the commercial media which are not hospitable to them. These fora, provided for and organized by the CBCP, could prove to be more effective venues for principled opposition (as distinguished from opportunistic opposition), than those raucous street rallies favored by the opposition trapos and the tiresome communists, which merely tie up traffic and disrupt business activities, and generate only confrontational heat rather than liberating light. But to be effective, the CBCP fora should be ecumenical, open not only to Catholics but also to Protestants, Born Agains, Muslims, Iglesias, Aglipays, even to agnostics, atheists and secular humanists. The defining character of the fora should be: non-trapo, non-coup-ric, and non-communist.. Only then may the uncommitted middle class possibly and finally commit themselves. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles since 2002 in www.tapatt.org. Current articles also in tonyabaya.multiply.com. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �New Breed of Leaders� Dear Mr. Abaya, In order to have a new breed of leaders, we need a new breed of families sanctified by a new breed of holy clergy. Yes, clergy sincere in catechizing them in the Truth and catering to their pastoral needs. We are in dire need of clergy imbued with an interior life much like those intrepid Jesuits of old who evangelized the New World through their apostolic zeal and fortified by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Holy and upright leaders can only come from holy and upright families which in turn can only be formed by holy and upright priests. It is a virtuous cycle. Until we achieve this, looking for a new breed of leaders will only remain pure rhetorics. And lastly I dare add, the crisis in the temporal sphere is a necessary consequence of a crisis in the spiritual sphere for the Holy Catholic Church was, is and will always be the center of History. Jose Maria P. Alcasid, [email protected] May 11, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww How can this clerico-fascist talk of new breed of leaders when they (CBCP) just filed an opposition to the public viewing of the harmless Da Vinci Code movie at the MRTBC.? Ross Tipon, [email protected] Baguio City, May 11, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Sir: I agree. What we need are genuine leaders at all levels that represent the true will and interest of the people. This may be of the highest priority. I am doing some small initiatives along this line. More power. Monib Mamao, [email protected] May 11, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Bishop Lagdameo's call for new breed of leaders is timely. Most of our people look up to national leaders to solve their problems. Constitutional change is being pushed but this merely addresses the problem of form rather than substance, as if the same national leaders take the cudgels of the new form of government, that may not result to positive expectations of our people, at all. On the other hand, if power is decentralized and people at the lower levels of government are provided a means to work out their own problems at their own levels, that may result to a more sensitive and timely acting government which is really what we want. I say we decentralize power, provide for federalization giving the regions or provinces more say on their own concerns, leading to greater autonomy and governance for the people. Rene Pamintuan, [email protected] May 11, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I am happy to read the excerpt from Bishop Lagdameo. In this connection, can you provide me (if it is possible) of an email address where I can get in touch with the Bishop? In our own little way, we have a group who are really into the formation of leaders, aiming to form not only good leaders but great leaders. Our vision is holistic, we have spiritual formation, leadership formation and we are striving to provide livelihood to our constituents. However, as you said, because we do not have political backings, we are placed on the sidelines. We are also catering not only to Catholics but also to other denominations as well because our vision is to equip people for true service without looking at the religious affiliation. Indeed, in our experience, it is really hard to form leaders out of people because we have our own way of thinking, but so far, in the few people whom we are providing training and equipping, we see some improvements, not only in thinking but in action as well Leadership formation is a tedious process, but it is better to train and multiply people who think in a more balanced manner than doing all things alone. Thank you again for your insight. Ely Lerio, [email protected] May 11, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr.Abaya, Thank you for sending me this article. I fully agree with you on this. Below is a joint statement by the National Action for Political Renewal and Stability (NAPRAS). The Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (ISACC), the office I work in, is a member of NAPRAS. Attached is an invitation to a Non-violent Candlelight Citizens' Assembly on May 13. This is our creative way of expressing our sentiments towards our political crisis today. STOP CHARTER CHANGE FOR NOW AND CLEAN UP COMELEC Official statement by the NATIONAL ACTION FOR POLITICAL RENEWAL AND STABILITY, an Inter-faith Citizens' Movement Constitutions are a product of their time. The 1987 Charter � while it is by no means perfect � embodies fundamental protections for citizens' rights, as well as checks and balances against the return of abuses experienced under Martial Rule. These protections and principles are now under assault. Ours is a perilous time. Our sovereign will and voice as citizens is once again under threat. And so, as people from various faith communities, we stand together against the undue haste with which the Constitution is seeking to be revised under the guise of a `people's initiative.' We can not allow this bogus mimicry of the people's will to proceed unchallenged. We dare to name the powers behind this move for what they really are: opportunistic politicians resorting to dubious technicalities and the dark expediencies afforded by the present hour to perpetuate themselves in power. Now is not the time to tinker with the Constitution . A most disturbing consequence of the current political crisis has been the damage to the credibility of our democratic institutions. The Commission on Elections, tasked with safeguarding the true will of the people, has been the first casualty. It has been alleged to be complicit in the massive fraud committed in the last elections. For this reason, we declare our loss of confidence in the leadership of Comelec, as well as for government to put in place immediate electoral reforms as the first important step towards restoring the people's confidence in our electoral processes. We believe that in whatever system, progress in any country happens when the Rule of Law is followed and the institutions of democracy are allowed to flourish. Where there is a fundamental inability to obey and enforce laws, make social contracts binding, or call erring officials to account, futility sets in, our people lose confidence and we become just another soft state. The answer to our present crisis is not Charter change but the will to make our institutions work . This is where, as people of faith, we recognize that the Church can make an important contribution. The institutional hardness that any society needs depends on citizens with a resolute sense of right and wrong. It demands an infraculture of probity, fairness and respect for rights. It is these values that the Church must cultivate, instilling a faith that is not only occupied with getting a ticket to heaven but is able to stand in the face of corruption, inequality and abuse of power. As a prophet puts it, "the righteous will live by his faith." ( Habakkuk 2:4 ). The hour has come for all men and women of goodwill to make a stand against the forces that make light of our hard-won democratic processes, using them as tools for legitimizing their overweening drive to stay in power. With the help of God, we believe that ordinary citizens like ourselves can make a difference and create a culture of accountability. We can dispel the darkness that for so long has shrouded this land. Let us go out and light a candle and wake to a new morning. DR. MELBA PADILLA MAGGAY, Ph.D. President/Chief Executive Officer Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture MR. JOHNNY CARDENAS President Kapatiran sa Pangkalahatang Kabutihan MS. SHARON ROSE JOY RUIZ-DUREMDES General Secretary National Council of Churches in the Philippines We wish you could join us on Saturday and if you may, extend the invitation to your network. Again, thank you very much! Mifflin Ann A. Garcia, [email protected] Program Coordinator Advocacy thru Media, ISACC #4 Malinis Street, U.P. Village, Diliman, QC Tel. #922-9420 website: www. isacc.org.ph wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww And for some of us here in California, we have been urging many of our friends to invite the princes of the Philippine Catholic Church to dialogue with their flock who are as religious as ever. You will be amazed at the Filipinos who fill up the Catholic churches in the San Francisco Bay Area. For a start, they can discuss Pope Paul VI's Encyclical, "Populorum Progressio", and how it relates to the Philippine situation. But would the adherents of the National Democratic Front agree to reconsider their avowed strategy of their Maoist "Armed Struggle"? Cesar Torres, [email protected] California, May 11, 2006 MY REPLY. Probably not. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, The call for a new breed of leaders has been around. At this time it does not hurt to be reminded of it. Sayang lang, I don't see people reacting positively each time this call is made. Why? I thank you for making Msgr. Lagdameo's new leaders' call echo in your column and emailing list. I'm sure it is a thoughtful and benevolent service the CBCP president and his Church can appreciate. Lagdameo wrote, "Filipinos should combine their efforts and come up with 'a new breed of leaders in our country.'" Fine, but have we asked him if his "call of the hour" alludes also to his very person and the other mighty non-violence moralists like him in his church? They all need replacement don't they? I think the leaders who are in most need of new breeding are those in the Church whom you agree have the biggest organization and influence in our Catholic country. You wrote, "Lagdameo's call for "a new breed of leaders" is significant because, as president of the CBCP, he has the organizational reach and the moral clout to make it happen, if he chooses to make it happen." "If he chooses to make it happen." gives us a lot of hope because we have this bad habit of trusting our clergy. But I doubt it. Most Catholics can't find reasons to doubt him though. Not me because I have not seen any serious acts that will enable its happening.I do not seen him trying to wither the deep differences or narrow the current widening split in his church. Surely if he mounts an advocacy that requires the fundamental need for cooperation he must be the first to show his team working in harmony toward one direction. Why make the subject of the call limited only to the politic leaders, better known as the trapos? When in fact, look who's had the people for centuries in the palms of their hands? It was only lately in our history that the trapos were created and came abreast with them. Knocking at the wrong door, is he? First in the list of Lagdameo's reform call thru new leaders should be to reform the church leaders and the church itself. After all, together, they stood by for centuries in neglect to condone the birth of the trapos and their continuing healthy countenance; letting it appear as Satan's work and worst, the people's fault. But gross negligence killed the fine morals the Filipinos were first attracted to and for which they tried to make a go for a new and fruitful life of happy promises with their new White God. When the church could not deliver its promise of a good life thru its vaunted moral values thru its elite leaders preaching and acting the right but wrong beliefs attributed to their Jesus, the smarter Filipinos were quick to look for avenues to be freed, to where hope was abundant in getting their due in life. Where did they get the ideas? In the church itself corruption was abundant. The perceptive among us learned fast and good by concrete role models. Those who had them but vowed before their new white God to abandon it simply restored them back to business. The Catholic Church leaders failed the Filipinos. Hey, speaking of it, not only us but the Latinos and several other small time church-countries. "If he [Lagdameo & his Church] chooses it to happen." rings with historical truth. But we need to ask, "In today's time how will the "will of choosing" happen?" Not with the same old ineffective church ways. NOOO! We were there before, we are still there now and what do we see has happened and what is happening now? We lost and are still losing! And now we want the failed Filipinos to go back to these values of losing outputs under the same "saving" shepherds? What? You tondo and I'm crazy. We need to think again and again and again. We can ONLY go back with hope if we make fundamental changes in the most influential Catholic Church. We see many righteous cha-cha believers pin their hopes ON A NEW BEGINNING with a NEW SYSTEM, why can't we have the same believers pin their hopes ON A NEW BEGINNING WITHIN THE VERY MECHANISM that fed the old system, continue to feed our present system, and will be feeding the proposed new system? The trapos and the vote-selling masa are products of the old same Catholic Church - vow of celibacy that makes the temptation for sexual gratification permanent; no artificial birth controls for believers who can hardly eat a decent meal a day [hey, more people means more winning potentials in both spiritual and secular battles]; espousing that liberty is only for organizations other than totalitarian Vatican, the only infallible entity on earth and everywhere; its confusing, mysterious and forever hidden God as the only job giver, president-maker and provider of all; heaven is never here for earth is only the world of testing obedience to God; advocates a just provision for our poor brothers who had been made poor by the best tool of Catholicism - away with the picks and shovels that provides riches, leave everything to your God, allow only the elite to rule and prosper; believing that to the poor belong the produce of charity - low wages, marginal basic services or none at all, land to the few privileged, etc. The ugliest sin of the church is deception that continues today. Believe and you shall have all! Leave everything to Jesus and everything will come to you. For all afflictions blame the others, the trapos, neo-colonialists, the transnational, the creditors, Satan, but never the sacred Church! Change our political leaders but leave the church alone. Nooo, it is high time we make the Church understand that the biggest problem of the country is itself. If it starts to mend its ways the Filipinos will be making a good start too. There is this deception also worthy of the critical mind. This present Lagdameo call specifies NO TIME FRAME. What is a national roadmap without a time frame? Unworthy! Fit for the waste bin. "Focus on "sowing the seeds of hope through moral values." Yessir, but sowing takes time. How much time is Lagdameo prepared to tell the people for the fruits to come? Relate this to the time left before the final death blow to the republic comes? Okay, now, will we have enough time for Lagdameo's formula? Would we have the time for sowing, maturing and ripening before the final death blow comes? Would sowing hinder the trapos' deadly exploitation and corruption NOW and in the immediate future, enough to slow down and eventually stop our swift travel toward death? TIME is of essence. Do we go for the long tedious and patient sowing, maturing and ripening process thru cultural value changes that take a couple of generations [at the least according to the social experts], or do we go for something else within the realm of reason, practicality, our abilities and disabilities, and the reality of our fast approaching death end? The call for a new breed of leaders, if taken in the context of the time left for survival, may not work if no new, short, imperative and decisive intervention/s are made to slow down our trapos from completely wrecking beyond redemption our country and our people. This Lagdameo formula will only have a chance to work if and only if it is given the time to grow, mature and ripen within the safe period left for us, but not without the needed complementary intervention/s. Therefore time to make Lagdameo's miraculous proposal for survival and the complementary intervention/s must be paramount factors for our consideration. Do we have the time, Tony? What complementary intervention/s can you think of?* Ogie Reyes, [email protected] May 11, 2006 *interventions? 1] Your favorite Tony - the ridding of all the communists that oppose your sure-fire idea for progress - industries for export. 2] Quick coup d�etat. 3] Snap election. 4] cha-cha. 5] The dreaded Martial Law. 6] More borrowings and debt restructuring. What else? More OFWs, GMA resignation. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I like this article very very much. Bishop Lagdameo has hit the point and has been very prophetic in his proposal of a new breed of leaders. I just recently participated in an international congress for educators in Rome last month which was ecumenical, moral, wholesome but radical in its proposal for a revolutionized society I'll tell you more of this with a write-up which I wrote for New City Magazine. I just want to thank you for this article...beautiful and very relevant.... Jose Aranas, [email protected] Baguio City, May 11, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Forwarded by Cesar Torres, [email protected]) Mr. C, Does this call for re-classification mean that Miriam and Franklin belong to the "Old Breed"? I would guess that Lagdameo is always in touch with them two since they are church-goers. After all, there has to be also continuity. Not all leaders are rotten, even if many probably are. Gonzales Reynaldo, [email protected] May 12, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony Abaya, This is in reaction to your article in Standard Today dated May 9th. While I agree with Bishop Lagdameo's call for a new breed of leaders, we can never produce such leaders if we don't address the root cause of why we keep on producing such lousy leaders. Most of us complain about bad governance but fail to see the underlying pathology of bad leaders. My idea below has been published in another paper already: "While our common exasperation is obvious, our own contribution as a people in the pathology of tyranny is seldom analyzed. There is also such a thing as a �crisis of followership.� Jose Rizal mentioned this, albeit in passing: �There are no tyrants where there are no slaves.� This crisis stems from the fact that the ideal good follower is the precursor of a good leader. Societies whose followers are active, independent, critical thinkers who can manage themselves, produce leaders who exactly reflect their ideals of good governance. They are committed to the organization and to persons, principles or purposes beyond themselves. Their personal and organizational goals are aligned. They are competent and avoid obsolescence with continuing education and development. They can move easily into the role of leader and slip back as easily to the role of follower. In short, good leadership is a function of the followers� competence, not the other way around. This has been shown in studies conducted by experts on various types of organizations -- ranging from teams (e.g., formed for Antarctic expeditions) to corporations. Take the issue of poverty for instance. Very few accept the fact that for as long as we Filipinos rely on mendicant and dole out systems for our basic services instead of improving our individual competence for self-governance, the cycle of poverty will continue to escalate with every failed leader we install. Our penchant of putting the blame on every leader becoming a tyrant and corrupt once in power only talks about the fever, not the infection causing it. Our society with its system of patronage and mendicancy is the generator of a steady supply of tyrants and corrupt leaders. We fail to look inside out and see that these leaders are a mere reflection of our own incompetence in self-management and our low self-esteem as a people with pre-set ideas on how power should be dispensed. For as long as the gene pool is that of jackasses, one cannot expect to breed winning racehorses. As de Juvenal once said, 'A society of sheep only invites a government of wolves.' So the good Bishop's call will only succeed if we recognize that our problem is a crisis of followership which can only be overcome if we learn self-governance and change our ideals of a good leader. Only then can we focus on how our next generation of leaders can flourish in our political landscape. Ike Eslao, [email protected] May 12, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww It may seem that the CBCP may have a clout in both political and spiritual aspect of Filipinos, however, they seem to have a weak control of their flock. One of the reason I opened my mind to other "religions" is because of the almost non-existent of leadership of the Catholic heads. In other words, puro salita lang. Titular heads lang talaga. Catholics seem to have " no connect" with their leaders. It�s high time for the Catholic leaders to be felt. Mike Delgado, [email protected] May 12, 2006-05-14 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Thank you very much for updating me with your write-ups. Lately, during the promotion of our Philippine product, �Mama Sita� of which we were among the guests of a luncheon party held at the Ambassador�s residence, a well-meaning Filipino whispered to me of their group�s interest in the magazine (Philippine Digest) and even requested to have a meeting in our residence (unfortunately moved to another date since some of them are on vacation there in Philippines) to discuss further and how they could help us could penetrate not only among us Filipino nationals here but to other nationals as well. After all, they noticed our goal of �showcasing� our country�s potentials especially our tourism industry to attract more investors, our humble way to help uplift our deteriorating economy. Although there is another Filipino media here but as I have said before in my first email to you, such publication is just a front of the political refugees here that publishing positive news about our country is indeed contradictory to pursue their ideology, hence the continuous distrust and disunity among the Filipino community here. It seems what happened there back home is also happening here�..with so much adversaries and such a pity for us Filipinos living in a foreign land. I think this is the reason why these well-meaning Filipinos showed interest with us hoping that the well-being of us Filipinos here and our country in general should be represented with a magazine uplifting every Filipino�s pride and integrity. Reading such informative articles of yours, it would be more beneficial if your articles be read by our readers too. Thus, if you allow us, it would be an honor having your regular �column/opinion� in the magazine under your name and of course with your picture in it. In case, you may grant my request, our May-June issue will be posted third week of June and we appreciate very much if you let us know where to address your copy, our token of appreciation. Once again, thank you and best wishes. Mrs. Lori Roa-Raam, [email protected] The Netherlands, May 13, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww As an avid reader of your columns and on the subject of new breed of leaders, what are your thoughts on grooming support for Tony Meloto of Gawad Kalinga as the next president of the Philippines? The loudest criticism I am hearing why the middle class is indifferent to the cries against GMA is that there is no clear alternative to her. Does it not make sense therefore to find that alternative now? I appreciate your thoughts on this and like before, I will share your reply with my e-groups. Bert Peronilla, [email protected] May 13, 2006 MY REPLY. Tony Meloto of Gawad Kalinga is certainly a shining example of the New Breed of Leaders that this country needs. But I am not sure he is prepared to politicize his efforts as Gawad Kalinga appears to have been co-opted by President Arroyo. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Fear of Thought Tony, Listening in on one of the Catholic TV stations from the States this morning, I was surprised to hear a spokes-woman tell the faithful to boycott bookstores selling the Da Vinci Code. This is tantamount to book burning, as with plans to ban the movie here in the Philippines. This suggests fear of people thinking for themselves, and an admission that the premise of the belief is so weak as to not withstand examination. I guess this would not be a popular subject in an article. Jack Sherman, [email protected] May 13, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww BUILDING A "CIVILIZATION OF LOVE": A Pastoral Exhortation for the Year of Social Concerns Beloved People of God: Last January we, your Bishops, declared this year 2006, "Year of Social Concerns." We pay special attention this year to the teaching, appropriation, and implementation of the social doctrine of the Church as contained in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. We are called to build a "society more human, more worthy of the human person," (Compendium, 582). This is a mission that we your Bishops have frequently urged all the faithful to do. Even now we continue to urge everyone to study, pray over, and apply the four Pastoral Exhortations�on Philippine Politics (1997), economics (1998), culture (1999), and spirituality (2000)� that we wrote for the Year of the Great Jubilee 2000. Two new factors make the focus on social concern this year more urgent. First, the whole Church is powerfully reminded by the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, that the social concern "is as essential to her mission as the ministry of the sacraments and the preaching of the Gospel. The Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word." (DCE, 22). Secondly, our present Philippine situation calls us to be more actively committed to living out the social teaching of the Church. Political turmoil, moral corruption, and environmental degradation have worsened massive poverty and scandalous social inequality. We are today especially concerned about a pervasive sense of weariness, cynicism, and hopelessness among many of our people. What can we, must we, as Church do to heal this terrible malaise of spirit? What more can we do to help our people, especially the poor, believe that there is hope? Our Commitment as Church We believe that today the Lord's commandment of love, the social teaching of the Church, and the urgent needs of our people are calling us to intensify our commitment to build in our land "a civilization of love" (see, e,g. Centesimus Annus, 10). "Love builds up," St. Paul teaches (1 Cor. 8:1). With love the Church builds up by prophetically critiquing and denouncing injustice and by prompting "positive activity" that will "promote a society befitting mankind because it befits Christ" (Compendium, 8, 63). How shall we do this? We commit ourselves to a three-fold program of pastoral action: 1. The Church will continue to build character. Through the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments, through the ministry of Catholic education, through programs of formation and spirituality, we shall seek, with the help of God's grace to build persons of faith and virtue. To build the future, we need to deepen our sense of honesty and integrity, service and responsibility, stewardship and solidarity. Corruption is rooted in a fundamental self-centeredness or selfishness, an evil that contravenes the human responsibility to exist "with" others and "for" others (see Compendium, 165). Transforming persons from this self-centeredness to the life of virtue and social responsibility remains our primary task and contribution to nation building. 2. The Church must build capacity. Poverty is not only about "not having" but also of "not being able." Poverty is also a question of capability. We have to empower those who are needy to construct a better future. Our social action programs, training programs and institutions, research centers, schools, charitable agencies and organizations, religious orders and congregations, lay organizations and movements, Basic Ecclesial Communities, need to help people grow in capacities, such as the capacity to govern themselves, the capacity to develop their abilities, the capacity to find meaningful and fruitful employment and work, the capacity to care for our environment, the capacity to make leadership accountable. We, therefore, commend our charitable institutions that are at the service of the most vulnerable in our society. We commend programs such as Pondo ng Pinoy, Gawad Kalinga and Tabang Mindanaw for empowering people to participate in their own development and in continuing work of creation. 3. The Church must build community. Fifteen years ago we pointed out that the ruinous divisiveness in our country is rooted in a culture "too focused on the good of small social groups" (Acts and Decrees of Second Plenary Council, 21), on the good of those we identify with, our families, our town-mates, our province-mates, etc. Through formation and education, through various means including the use of the media of social communications, we need to promote, at every level of society and Church, a spirituality of citizenship, which is a concrete way of living out in our country the "fundamental social virtue": solidarity (see Compendium, 193). This spirituality of citizenship fosters a sense of patriotism and of being responsible for our country. It develops Filipinos into becoming active and constructive participants in social and political life. It enables the laity to take their rightful leadership role in the social transformation of our country. To build community in a country battered by various kinds of conflict is to promote peace. This "requires the establishment of an order based on justice and charity" (Compendium, 494). Concretely we need to foster dialogue among Christians, between Filipinos of different faiths, and among different sectors of society. For this reason we commend the efforts of many peace advocates, parishes, NGOs, religious groups, the Bishops-Ulama Conference, and others that actively dialogue for peace. A Call to Action. We end our reflection with a call to decisive action. The late Pope John Paul II reminded us that "the social message of the Gospel must not be considered a theory, but above all a basis and a motivation for action" (Centesimus Annus, 57). Our action must not be merely seasonal or ad hoc or crisis driven. It has to be action that is a sustained "ministry of charity exercised in a communitarian, orderly way" (DCF, 21). In particular, we reiterate the call to action from a moral standpoint expressed in our CBCP statements last January and April. We need to restore trust in our political institutions "which are perceived by many to be corrupted": � We commend the Supreme Court as an independent institution of government for clarifying the constitutional parameters for E.O. 464 and P.P. 1017. � We continue to view with alarm the signature campaign for the People's Initiative which many of our Social Action Centers have reported as being deceptive, lacking in adequate information and discussion, and not initiated by the people. � We continue to call for a thorough reform of the Commission on Elections to restore trust in our electoral process. In particular, the Ombudsman's investigation of COMELEC officials involved in anomalous contracts worth P2.3 billion should be completed as soon as possible, as directed by the Supreme Court. � Other investigations conducted by other institutions of government should be followed up in the proper forum and fully reported to the public. We refer to the Senate hearings on the fertilizer fund appropriations which concluded that hundreds of millions of pesos remain unaccounted for. With other citizens' groups, we also ask for the full disclosure of the Mayuga Report on the conduct of certain military officers in the last elections. We urge the faithful and all our institutions: first, to evaluate what they are presently doing to build character, capacity and community; and secondly, to pray and discern over what more we can do to promote a "civilization of love". We offer a few possible concrete steps: * Family associations for justice and peace; * Education and formation sessions and study weeks on Catholic Social Teachings; * Bantay-dagat, bantay-kalikasan movements * Anti-corruption programs; * Livelihood programs; * Training programs for good governance; * Formation programs for good citizenship; * Election monitoring, voters' education *88 Research-based social and political advocacies. Such tasks are some of the steps to build a civilization of love. They may seem small and insignificant, but without doubt they build hope. And the ripple effect of hope is incalculable. "Christian hope... generates confidence in the possibility of building a better world" (Compendium, 579). Conclusion Beloved People of God, we have declared this "Year of Social Concerns" "under the auspices of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus." We are commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (instituted in 1856 by Pope Pius IX) and the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius XII's encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Haurietis Aquas). Ultimately all Christian social concern and social action flow from and participate in the boundless love of the Heart of Jesus. We thank God that so many individuals and groups in the Church witness by their life and work to the socially transforming love of Jesus. May the Blessed Mother bring us all closer to the Heart of Jesus. We fervently pray that through our service of love the Heart of Jesus might rekindle our hope, heal and transform our society into a civilization of love. For the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. +ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D. Archbishop of Jaro President, CBCP May 11, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww |
| Much as I have my disagreements with a few of the Church's stands on social issues, I have to give them a lot of credit for the timely success of EDSA 1. It was their media that kept the people informed of what was going on. People trust the Church to do that, and so far, they have proved to be solid in their wisdom. The political climate today is such that many would support this "New Breed of Leaders" if they are backed by Church Leaders such as Lagdameo. There are very few political (I do consider the Philippine Catholic Church a political force) forces that have the clout, the manpower, and the money, to take the bull by the horns, and make this change. Good luck to them. God Bless all of us Peter Capotosto, [email protected] May 16, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony----I read your articles and forward to a number of friends---they never complain or comment. This article and the latest are really interesting and in fact the one I am referring to--New Breed of Leaders--is fantastic. I sort of wonder ---- with regards to the so-called communists --- the real problem I find with these guys is they proclaim communism---but they don�t know what is communism. To me this is the most unsettling fact. Tomorrow if it was fashionable to be a---whatever ----- then they would promote that as anideal plan. So while they are there---- whether we like it/or them or not ---- the BBBBB's are there. I was wondering how you see the politics of Nepal---how do we if we do of course compare your commos to the Maoists there. Interesting how quickly things have developed in Vietnam mate----seems to be the place. What are they doing that Manila is not doing. Tony---do you see or know any-----NEW BREED of LEADERS???? Is there anyone likely to volunteer---- John Craige, [email protected] Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 17, 2006 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww |
| Hi, Mr Abaya, Can you please illuminate us on the Born Again Movement which appears to be gaining ground among Filipinos and winning adherents away from Catholicism. Thanks and even more thanks for your articles which are so enlightening. Need more "thinking" and "values-oriented" writers like yourself, I think. Col Dennis Acop, [email protected] West Point, '83, June 13, 2006 MY REPLY. As far as I know, the Born-Again Movement is an off-shoot of mainstream Protestantism, but it has also spawned off-shoots from mainstream Roman Catholicism. It has been especially robust in the US and Latin America, the latter specially worrisome to the Roman Catholic Church. In general, the Born-Again phenomenon may be explained as a sign that many mainstream Protestants and Catholics are unhappy with their Churches, for various reasons, and find personal fulfillment and salvation in these smaller Churches. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |