Maniolas

Office workers sit along the quay at Raffles Place financial district in Singapore. AFP MANILA, Philippines—An open letter seeking to reduce the number of Filipino workers in Singapore has been circulating online. The letter, addressed to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was written by a certain Jafri Basron and posted on user-generated content website The Real Singapore on Tuesday. Basron said he represented the ordinary Singaporeans concerned over the “perceived influx” of Filipino workers holding employment passes (EP) and S-Passes. He said the huge number of Filipinos working in Singapore was causing “social problems and resentment among the local community” struggling to keep their jobs. Basron said the presence of Filipinos “in almost every strata of the employment sector” was making it difficult for Singaporeans to find work. According to Basron, employers prefer Filipino workers not because they are experienced and professional but because they are willing to accept lower wages compared to their Singaporean counterparts. “Such unfair and unreasonable practice is unbecoming,” Basron said. Add to that the “offensive and provocative postings” made in social media by some Filipinos toward Singaporeans and Muslims, he said. Singapore-based Tan Tock Seng Hospital sacked a Filipino nurse in Jan. 9 over “offensive” remarks posted on social media. The hospital said it fired Ello Ed Mundsel Bello after finding three of his posts on Facebook and Google Plus that touched on race and religion. The updates were described as “highly irresponsible and offensive to Singapore and religion.” Basron urged the Singapore government to Read More …

ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCISDURING THE “MEETING WITH FAMILIES”Manila, PhilippinesJanuary 16, 2015 Dear Families,Dear Friends in Christ, I am grateful for your presence here this evening and for the witness of your love for Jesus and his Church. I thank Bishop Reyes, Chairman of the Bishops’ Commission on Family and Life, for his words of welcome on your behalf. And, in a special way, I thank those who have presented testimonies and have shared their life of faith with us. The Scriptures seldom speak of Saint Joseph, but when they do, we often find him resting, as an angel reveals God’s will to him in his dreams. In the Gospel passage we have just heard, we find Joseph resting not once, but twice. This evening I would like to rest in the Lord with all of you, and to reflect with you on the gift of the family. It is important to dream in the family. All mothers and fathers dream of their sons and daughters in the womb for 9 months. They dream of how they will be. It isn’t possible to have a family without such dreams. When you lose this capacity to dream you lose the capacity to love, the capacity to love is lost. I recommend that at night when you examine your consciences, ask yourself if you dreamed of the future of your sons and daughters. Did you dream of your husband or wife? Did you dream today of your parents, your grandparents who carried forward the Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Speaking comfortably in Spanish and with lively hand gestures, Pope Francis spoke of the importance of dreams for a family when he departed from his prepared English statement during the Meeting with Families Friday evening. “I like this idea of dreaming in a family,” the Pope said through an interpreter. “Every mother and father dreams of their son or daughter in nine months, is it true or not?” The packed crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena replied with a resounding “yes!” “To dream how will your daughter or son be. It is not possible to have a family without such dreams,” Francis remarked softly. “When you lose this capacity to dream then you lose the capacity to love and this energy to love is lost,” he said. The Holy Father urged the parents in attendance at the event to “examine your conscience” and to ask themselves if they have dreamt about the members of their family. “I recommend that at night when you examine your consciences, ask yourself, today did I dream about my sons and daughters, did I dream of the love of my husband or my wife, did I dream about my parents, my family? “It is so important to dream, and to dream in a family. Please don’t lose this ability to dream in this way,” the Pope said. “And how many solutions are found to family problems if we take time to reflect?” The Pope’s informal remarks in Spanish were a contrast Read More …

Pope Francis delivers his speech during a Mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in Manila, Philippines, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) a HOMILY OF POPE FRANCISMass with Bishops, Priests and ReligiousManila’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception16 January 2015 Do you love me? Thank you. “Do you love me?…  Tend my sheep” (Jn 21:15-17).  Jesus’ words to Peter in today’s Gospel are the first words I speak to you, dear brother bishops and priests, men and women religious, and young seminarians.  These words remind us of something essential.  All pastoral ministry is born of love.  All consecrated life is a sign of Christ’s reconciling love.  Like Saint Therese, in the variety of our vocations, each of us is called, in some way, to be love in the heart of the Church. I greet all of you with great affection.  And I ask you to bring my affection to all your elderly and infirm brothers and sisters, and to all those who cannot join us today.  As the Church in the Philippines looks to the fifth centenary of its evangelization, we feel gratitude for the legacy left by so many bishops, priests and religious of past generations.  They labored not only to preach the Gospel and build up the Church in this country, but also to forge a society inspired by the Gospel message of charity, forgiveness and solidarity in the service of the common good.  Today you carry on that work of love.  Like them, you are Read More …

popular Storm signal 1 raised over Catanduanes, Northern Samar Israel awards actor Michael Douglas $1 million prize Beermen, Aces break tie in Game 5 today Abandoned children to welcome Pope Francis with flowers North Korea’s Kim Jong Un mulls Russia for his world debut Pope Francis’ Mass at Quirino Grandstand: No smoking, please Belgium police kill 2 in anti-terror raid during shootout ‘You haven’t seen nothing yet; wait till you get to PH’ videos Pope Francis rallies for the poor, against corruption Cops block militant groups going to Palace to welcome Pope Pope Francis arrives at Manila Cathedral Palo, Leyte, ‘Yolanda’ survivors cheer Pope Francis Abandoned children to welcome Pope Francis with flowers The words scribbled by Pope Francis in the Malacañang guestbook. Photo by Kristine Angeli Sabillo/INQUIRER.net Manila, Philippines—Wisdom and prosperity for Filipinos. These were some of the things that Pope Francis wished for when he wrote in the Malacañang’s official guestbook on Friday. His Holiness spent a minute or so scribbling his one-sentence message on the hardbound book as President Benigno Aquino III watched beside him. His handwriting was small and thick and veered upward as he wrote. He appeared to be copying from a printed card. Below is a copy of his message: On the President and people of this beloved land of the Philippines, I ask Almighty God’s abundant blessings of wisdom, discernment, prosperity and peace. 16.1.2015 Francis RELATED STORIES Pope’s first speech: ‘Blessings’ on ‘this beloved nation’ Pope Francis in Malacañang for first public speech Read More …