INCOMING president Rodrigo R. Duterte will aggressively implement the country’s family planning law to push his economic growth agenda, one of his aides said on Monday, in a move that could add to simmering tensions with the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church is adopting a new “4 Ps” approach to strengthen its efforts against human trafficking, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said this approach involving “Prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership” should particularly protect women and children. ”We partner with all these initiatives so that all these small streams can become a river that can sweep away this evil, as all evil, human trafficking thrives in darkness,” Pabillo told Church-run Radio Veritas. Excerpts of the interview were posted on the CBCP news site. Pabillo added this approach is also in support of the United Nations’ protocol to fight the problem. Also, the CBCP noted the International Justice Mission had said at least 100,000 cases of human trafficking involving children were reported in 2013, including sex trafficking of minors. “As long as the problem is not recognized, the evil doers can continue and expand their activities. Truth is our powerful weapon,” Pabillo said. — LBG, GMA News
President Benigno S. Aquino III welcomes His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah, President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, during the Courtesy Call at the Music Room of the Malacañan Palace on Wednesday (January 29, 2014). Also in photo is Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines His Excellency Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto. (Photo by Rolando Mailo / Malacañang Photo Bureau / PCOO) MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III received Cardinal Robert Sarah, the president of Pontifical Council Cor Unum, in a courtesy call in Malacañang on Wednesday. Accompanying Cardinal Sarah during the event were Rev. Msgr. Segundo Tejado Munoz, undersecretary for the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, Rev. Msgr. Chibuike Onyeaghala, Deputy Head of Mission, apostolic nunciature in the Philippines, and Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines Giuseppe Pinto. President Benigno S. Aquino III welcomes His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah, President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, during the Courtesy Call at the Music Room of the Malacañan Palace on Wednesday (January 29, 2014). (Photo by Lauro Montellano, Jr. / Malacañang Photo Bureau) The Pontifical Council Cor Unum for Human and Christian Development is a part of the curia of the Catholic Church established by Pope Paul VI on July 15, 1971. It is based in the Palazzo San Callisto, Piazza San Callisto in Rome, Italy. The name of the pontifical council means “one heart”. Its mission is care of the Catholic Church for the needy, thereby encouraging human fellowship and manifested through the charity of Christ. The council carries out humanitarian relief Read More …
With the interfaith vigil against the pork-barrel system, know as “EDSA Tayo”, just a few days away, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Friday said that he was saddened by the Philippines’ inability to break the cycle of corruption that has plagued it for decades. “Sa kasaysayan natin sa bansa ay napakarami na nating narinig, nabunyag na mga pagkakataon ng corruption, ng pang-aabuso sa kapangyarihan at yung napakamali sa paggamit ng pera na nakalaan sana sa paglilingkod sa bayan,” Tagle said in an interview on Radyo Veritas. “Sa aking lifetime so far, hindi ito ang first time na tayo ay humaharap sa ganyan, kaya ako ay nalulungkot.” Tagle recently, and very openly, expressed his views on the pork barrel scam, in which lawmakers allegedly misused billions in pesos of government funds for kickbacks. A few weeks ago, the cardinal shed tears as he spoke about the “heartbreaking” scam in a press conference at the University of Santo Tomas. Last month, the cardinal surprised protesters in the so-called Million People March by showing up at the Quirino Grandstand, where he characterized Filipinos as a “people of honor.” Tagle’s fellow bishops, too, are very open about their views. On Friday, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a pastoral statement expressing support for an upcoming prayer vigil against the pork barrel system. The vigil is scheduled on September 11, at the EDSA Shrine. Meanwhile, in the Radyo Veritas interview, Tagle said political solutions only provide a temporary answer to Read More …
By TJ BurgonioPhilippine Daily Inquirer 12:27 pm | Thursday, March 14th, 2013 Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Thursday morning hailed the election of Argentine Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio as the new Pope, saying this brings the “promise of renewal’’ in the Catholic Church. “From the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica came an announcement of great joy: that Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio had been elected as Pope, and taken the name Francis. From the city to the world, the joyful news has been accompanied by prayer and goodwill born of new beginnings,’’ President Benigno Aquino III’s spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a statement. The President, together with the Filipinos, “joins all the Catholic faithful as they receive their new leader and meet his proclamation with a sense of boundless promise,’’ Lacierda said. “As the first pope from outside Europe in a millennium—the first pope from the Society of Jesus, and the first from Latin America—the election of Pope Francis brings with it the promise of renewal in the Catholic Church, as it strives to fulfill its mission here on earth,’’ he said. Lacierda aired the hope that this would inaugurate a pontificate that “will bear witness not only to the basic tenets of the Gospel, but will also serve as a voice for peace, justice, and charity in a world threatened by tension and armed conflict, poverty, uncertainty, and loss of confidence in institutions.’’ “This is not merely a time for all Catholics to come together. This is Read More …