Young, new Philippine cardinal has extensive international ties

Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila, left, greets his new colleagues after being made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI during a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican last fall. (CNS/Paul Haring)

Young, new Philippine cardinal has extensive international ties
 
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

 VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At 55, Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila, Philippines, is one of the youngest and newest members of the College of Cardinals, but he is also one of the cardinals most frequently mentioned as a possible pope.

His youthful energy, his pastoral experience, his theological training and his communications skills impressed cardinals and bishops from around the world even before Pope Benedict XVI inducted him into the College of Cardinals last November.

In 1997, Blessed John Paul II named him a member of the International Theological Commission, an advisory body to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was then headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict.

Cardinal Tagle's speeches at the 2005, 2008 and 2012 synods of bishops drew attention, as did his presentation in February 2012 at a Vatican-sponsored conference on handling the clerical sexual abuse crisis, particularly in countries and regions where very few accusations have become public.

At the conference, he said the church in Asia cannot wait for a crisis to erupt before it begins to address the scandal of abuse and put into place measures to ensure that victims come first in the church's concern.

"We do not need to wait for a bomb to explode. Preventing it from exploding is the best response," he said.

The cardinal led discussions about how Asian bishops should prepare their child protection policies, particularly given cultural customs and behaviors that could make it difficult to define inappropriate touching and that work to keep abuse secret.

In his speech to the world Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization in October, then-Archbishop Tagle focused on the humility that must mark the church's interaction with the world, a theme that recurs in his writings and homilies.

Being humble means recognizing when the church does not have all the answers, and therefore being willing to remain silent, he told the synod, adding that "a church at home with silence will make the voiceless believe they are not alone."

In his homily during the Mass for his installation as archbishop of Manila in 2011, he promised to remain humble.

"I tell myself as though it were the Lord telling me, 'Chito, do not think you have become great because of your new position. Be great rather in being a beloved and loving disciple of the Lord,'" he said, referring to himself by his nickname.

He also told Catholics the church must trust Jesus like the disciples did.

"We know that the Lord guards his church," he said. "He keeps watch with us on those long nights of confusion and helplessness in mission."

"When, in spite of our good intentions and efforts there are still multitudes of hungry people we cannot feed, homeless people we cannot shelter, battered women and children we cannot protect, cases of corruption and injustice that we cannot remedy," he said, "the long night of the disciples in the middle of the sea continues in us." But the experience makes the church "grow in compassion toward our neighbors whose lives seem to be a never-ending dark night."

In December, after both the Philippine House and Senate passed versions of a Reproductive Health Bill that the nation's bishops opposed because it would fund contraceptives for the poor, Cardinal Tagle said the legislature's action was "unfortunate and tragic. But we do not take it as a defeat of truth -- for truth shall prevail, especially the truth about human life, marriage and the family."

In response, he said, the Manila Archdiocese would " work harder to promote the sanctity of human life and of the human person," including by educating youth in Catholic values, offering concrete assistance to the poor and working to preserve the true meaning of marriage.

In an interview filmed last summer with Canada's Salt and Light TV, then-Archbishop Tagle was asked if he thought there ever would be a pope from Asia.

"I don't know," he said, "maybe we should ask the Holy Spirit."

"It's not so much the nationality, but it's the person" that counts, he said. The next pope could come "from any part of the world, but if this person embodies for the church at this particular time the grace that the Lord wants the church to experience in its supreme pastor, then we will welcome anyone."

Born June 21, 1957, in Manila, he studied at San Jose Seminary and Ateneo de Manila University, earning degrees in philosophy and theology. He earned his doctorate in sacred theology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, with a thesis on episcopal collegiality in the doctrine and practice of Pope Paul VI.

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Imus Feb. 27, 1982, and served in various parishes and as spiritual director of the Imus seminary before becoming rector. He also taught philosophy and theology at the Divine Word Seminary and San Carlos Seminary.

In the mid-1990s, he was part of the editorial committee working on a history of the Second Vatican Council for the Institute for Religious Studies in Bologna, Italy. The history has been described in some quarters as being too progressive and as presenting Vatican II as a "rupture" with church tradition rather than a reform in continuity with tradition.

Blessed John Paul named him bishop of Imus in 2001. He has served as president of the Philippine bishops' doctrinal committee and as president of the office for theological questions of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.

Since 2008, he has appeared on a weekly television program, "The Word Exposed," in which he offers reflections on the Sunday Mass readings.

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Contributing to this story was Lauren Colegrove at the Vatican.

END

SOURCE:   catholic news service

Disclaimer :   I do not own this article,  it is the property of the Catholic News Service .

CONSCIENCE VOTE

ANO BA ANG CONSCIENCE VOTE?

Ang pangunahing batayan ng conscience vote ay ang TAMANG PAGKAUNAWA SA TURO NG SIMBHAN. TAMA PAGUNAWA kasi may mga pagunawa sa turo ng simbahan na taliwas sa layunin ng Simbahan. Dapat nating malaman na ang simbahan ay may mga opisyal na turo na dapat nating paniwalaan at may tao na bahagi ng simbahan na nagtuturo ayon sa kanilang pagunawa na hindi opisyal o hango sa tunay na layunin ng simbahan. Ang tawag doon ay opinyo-- opinyon ng isang pari o theologian tulad ni Bernas o ni Tabora na mga pawang paring heswita. We respect their opinions but we follow the official teachings of the Church. Kapag ang ating sinunod ay ang kanilang opinyon, hindi yon conscience vote.

CONSCIENCE VOTE IS A CATHOLIC VOTE!

Bakit iba't iba ang kanilang pagka unawa sa turo ng Simbahan? Marami pwedeng maging dahilan:

Una, iba ang pagtingin nila sa isang isyu na ang kanilang pinagbatayan ay ang kanilang sariling karanasan. Halimbawa, madaming naghihirap at ang paghihirap ay sinisira ang dignidad ng mga tao. Nakita nila o naranasan nila ang paghihirap kaya anumang uri ng paraan ay katanggap tanggap para sa kanila mawala lang ang kahirapan. Sa ganitong pananaw nagiging subjective ang batayan at di hango sa tunay na layunin ng Simbahan. Kaya nga ang personal na karanasan ay hindi maaaring maging batayan ng conscience vote.

Pangalawa, ang praktikal na aspeto ng isyu, Ang tawag nito sa pilosopiya ay "PRAGMATISM." Halimbawa: dahil mahirap gawin ang natural family planning, kaya hindi ito mainam na sundin, hindi praktikal na gawin. Ang pagiging praktikal ay hindi tamang batayan ng conscience vote. Sinisira nito ang kapangyarihan ng Diyos na kayang Niyang gawin ang lahat,

-Rev. Fr. Thor Villacarlos

Source :  Catholic Vote Facebook

 

CATHOLIC TEACHINGS
REGARDING
THE BROTHERS OF JESUS

Did Jesus have biological brothers as some non-Catholics claim? Or is this just another attack on the Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary? Since the early days of the Catholic Church, the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary has been asserted and defended.

First of all, I will explain to you the Biblical meaning of the “brothers of Jesus.” In today’s society, as it was in the days of Jesus, the word “brother” had another meaning other than being a biological brother. The Natives of North America call each other “brothers”, although in most cases, they are not related. When watching television, we notice how the black people call each other “brothers,” although they are not related. The moslems in Canada often called each other “brothers” although they are not related. Prisoners call each other “bro” or “brothers” although they are not related. Members of religious groups call each other “brothers.” Even those who are involved in illegal drug activities, they call each other “brothers.” Yet none of these groups are really blood related to each other.

Why do these groups of people call each other “brothers?” It is because the word “brother” in these cases has a totally different meaning. The usage of the word “brother” in these cases has to do with association by culture, peers, race or religion. Some people like to emphasize that they belong to the same race. Equally, some like to emphasize that they belong to the same culture, a particular peer group or the same Church.

All of us, sometime in life, will experience being introduced as a “brother” or “sister” to someone. It might be because of the friendship between two persons or the manner in which one is introduced to a certain group. At the same time, one knows that truly, he is not the “brother” or “sister” of the other person.

It was the same in the Jewish culture. The Jewish people, not belonging to the gentile nations, made reference to each other as “brothers” and “sisters.” When introduced, this identified them as “one of them,” as a Jewish person. When something was written about the Jewish people, they were referred to as “brothers” as a means of saying they were Jewish.

To complicate the matter, the Hebrew language did not contain a word that meant “cousin.” Instead, the word “brother” was used for both, the words “brother” and “cousin.” When the Jewish scholars translated the early Church writings from Hebrew to Greek, they literally translated the word “brother” as “brother.” Since they were accustomed to the word that could mean either “brother” or “cousin,” they did not believe that it was necessary to define when it means “brother” or when it means “cousin.” Therefore, in instance where a reference might be made to a cousin of Jesus, the word “brother” was applied. While this person may have been a blood relative, he was not a biological brother.

Now, let us review the claim that James was the brother of Jesus. In Mark 15:40, we read, “There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.” It is clear from this verse that Mary, the mother of James and Joses was not Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Bible makes reference to more than one Mary.

To conclude, I want to present some logical facts that clearly indicate that Jesus could not have had brothers. These are:

1) If Jesus had brothers or sisters, does common sense not state that the descendants from Jesus’s mother would be proud of it? And accordingly, would these descendants not be claiming their rightful place as descendants of Mary? Yet, this has never happened!

2) The Catholic Church has always proclaimed that Mary was ever-virgin. If such was not true, why has her alleged other children and possibly descendants ever publicly renounce the virginity of Mary as a lie? It is because there are no other children or descendants of Mary.

3) If Mary would have had other children, Jesus would not have been as popular as He was. Jesus was popular because He was recognized as the promised Messiah, the fulfillment of prophecies found in the Old Testament. Jesus fulfilled the words found in the Gospel of Matthew where it states, "All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophoet: 'Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel,' which means, 'God is with us.'" [Mt. 1:22-23] If Mary would have had other children, the prophecy regarding the virginity of Mary in the Gospel of Matthew would not have been fulfilled. And Jesus would not have been recognized as being the Messiah.

4) In the Gospel of John, we read, "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, 'Woman, here is your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home." [Jn. 19:26-27]

If Jesus would have had any brothers, according to the Jewish custom, they would have been obligated to take care of Mary after Jesus died. But this was not the case. Jesus placed the care of His mother, Mary, into the hands of the Apostle John.

5) In the Gospel of Luke, we read how Jesus was conceived. "The angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.'" [Lk. 1: 35] The conception of Jesus resulted from a union between the Holy Spirit and Mary. This union, a marriage blessed by God, placed Mary in a position where she was obligated to maintain a vow of perpetual virginity after the birth of Jesus. If Mary would have had sex with Joseph after the birth of Jesus, this would have been viewed as an adulterous affair.

6) In Mark 6:3, we read, "'Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?' And they were offense at him." Notice here that there is only one reference to "the son of Mary," that being Jesus. The others are not called the sons of Mary but rather the brothers of Jesus. If they would have been the brothers of Jesus, logically, they too would have been referred to as the sons of Mary.

Knowing that Jesus had no biological brothers, we can speculate regarding the status of his brothers. They could have members of Jesus' religious group. The could have been cousins. They could have been adopted by Joseph and Mary. Or, if Joseph had fathered children from a previous marriage and was a widower, then the brothers would actually be half-brothers of Jesus. While all of these speculations are possible, they do not contradict the fact that Jesus had no biological brothers who shared Mary and Joseph as parents. Those who claim otherwise, they have failed to thoroughly study the facts that are found in the Holy Bible.

Link to this site: APOLOGETICS

CATHOLIC VOTE

THE CATHOLIC VOTE.

February 24, 2013.
Catholic Vote for the election might be new today, but in our daily lives as Catholics these chores are just ordinary. Why? because voting is a way of expression or will of every individuals; a decision making and choosing processes unknowingly regular in our routine . I say this because we possess god-given intellect with conscience to choose which is bad or good for ourselves from food , friends, clothing, medicine, etc., that is why no one can say that Catholic vote is new for us and for our Church.

100 % CATHOLIC

There's an  example of 100% KATOLIKONG PINOY  in facebook. It's a page that we Catholics should be like , and this is one sign that I say we must be as Christians. Being Catholic is not 50% or 99% it must be 100% Catholic!!!  In all you do, you breath, speak,  and do everything for the glory of God.

In the context of walking with the faith and believing in Jesus Christ, everything must be for Jesus:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,"
Colossians 3 :23.
So many of us are not fully immersed Catholic in words and in deeds, and this is why the call to become  full 100% Catholic should be a serious matter today, a call to be radical to the Faith is absolute. Christ is our life and our salvation, we"ll work only for Christ, none other!

We cannot appreciate and promote "Catholic Vote" if we are not 100% Catholic, much more we cannot be partners of Christ in the work for salvation of mankind if we do not understand His words.
In whatever we do, may it be in politics or in society, work it for the Lord, and the question of RH LAW, and proposed bills of  Divorce, Abortion, Same-sex Marriage, etc. which is not in consonance with the teachings of Christ must be repealed.

Biblical truths cannot be basis for Catholic Vote?

Why we cannot raise biblical truth for Catholic Vote? Secularists oppose biblical truth because we operate in a secular society? Wrong. The very basis of Catholic vote is the truth itself, God,  which is found in the bible, and humanity is the creation of God, and our cities and  municipalities in nature is a community of God, not in any form of secularism crafted by man. All laws of the land should be balance in body, spirit and soul - the three components of humanity.

Safe and satisfying sex feeds the body, not the soul and the spirit. Sex is a gift of God for procreation and not to be used outside that purpose. What men found and wanted on sex is to utilize it for bodily pleasure without consequences. Secular doctrine disregards soul and spirit, which has eternal consequences.

Catholic Vote is for Catholics and it is purely a Catholic business. We cannot influence other sects and denominations, but we can influence the moral bearings of our brothers and sisters for it is our job. The work is monstrous and we are just starting to teach our brethren connecting the gospel with politics and society.

We are citizens of Heaven and we shall live  to the requirements of our heavenly kingdom of our father and not of men. We are all called to be Christ like, so do our society and government.

Jesus did not intervene governments?
He intervened. Persecutions of Christians are the cause of His interventions. Look at St. Paul, he was made blind by the Lord and that is intervention. Should Christ take the sight of our congressmen and senators today? Possible! but we are here to do the job of proclaiming the gospel, and teach them all he had commanded us.

The conversion of Emperor Constantine the Great is the greatest of all interventions after centuries of persecutions and the birth of Christianity in Rome, the seat of Papacy in Vatican today. Interventions after interventions of God in our lives are countless!!!
Catholic Vote is intervention and conversion I will say.

We need to inform everyone about Catholic Vote, there's misconceptions and  misunderstanding about the birth of this topic. Moral guide from the Church we all need.
God loves you.

CATHOLIC VOTE PHILIPPINES













 

 

CONTRACEPTION AND THE BREAD OF LIFE

Contraception : Best for women, babies and the planet.-Bill and Melinda.

Melinda Gates vow to put the availability   of contraception back on the global health agenda- even if it means going against the Pope-has provided welcome voice for logic and compassion.

 It was the in the  London Summit on Family planning which they had sponsored last July of 2012.
Conference speakers pointed out that in 2012 alone, full access to family planning could prevent 200 million unintended pregnancies, 50 million abortions, 25 million miscarriages and 100,000 maternal deaths. This is in addition to the millions of children who, if they survive their first year of life, face a future of poverty and ill health. There is a strong unmet need for voluntary family planning, with 40% of pregnancies in the developing world unplanned and approximately 215 million women unable to access much wanted family planning support.

---
I appreciate very much the philanthropic goals of the  Gates couple, but the mission as I see it is obscured much in a more different fashion of agenda because the conference is vague in truth. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is just one of the current organized population control teams and organizations even before they've become billionaires, and their goals go seamlessly with other billionaires in the US who've been espousing this agenda of contraceptives and population control  long before, and they belong to this elite groups preaching on saving the mother earth by reducing world population, while in truth, they wanted to impose control if  cannot be eliminated  some human species on earth.

The idea of contraception is secular, and this defies the revealed truth of divine teachings as taught buy the Catholic Church. The church is not against with slowing birth rates in the first place or promoting family planning, but to the point that it is in conformity with the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ- abstinence from sex and the natural family planning method.

Abstinence and the Natural method is a difficult teaching, just like the Eucharist as taught by Jesus 2,000 years ago, but definitely it is a soul saving method  if followed.

The sacredness of life  from  conception espoused by the church today is the equivalence of the Bread of Life teaching of Jesus in his time.


The figures projected in the summit above is confusing, the saving miracle of contraceptives to women and mankind? sure not, but what are the facts and projections if Abstinence from sex and natural family planning method by the church if applied?

The summit is just for Contraceptives, which they did not figured the dangers of cancer causing and deaths of these devices for women and children. They will not tell.

Just like the Jews in the time of Jesus, Bread of Life is impossible for them. Today, Abstinence from sex is impossible for the world.

I am convinced  that contraception  is deception.

thank you and God bless.

source:Conversations

POPULATION POWER

This is a writing I want you to read, and sense properly how to use the population resources for advantage.

On the Second Front Page of the Dec. 29, 2012, issue of the Inquirer, an item was written about Bishop Gilbert Garcera of Daet, Camarines Norte, who pontificated about the evils of the reproductive health bill (now a law). He raised some talking points:
One, controlling population growth, which is the principal purpose of the law, is no good. Overpopulation is really the best thing that has happened to our country. It has given us the upper hand in the global competition. The more people we spawn, the bigger our opportunities for overseas deployment. And the more overseas Filipino workers we can export, the more foreign exchange it generates for our government!
Two, overpopulation also produces more sponge-bathers and ass-wipers among us to be positioned around the globe. That is “part of God’s plan for Filipinos to be caregivers to nations whose population had become stagnant,” like Germany and the United States which are groaning under the weight of their old and inutile citizens! The bishop went on to say that Filipinos have “a duty to take care of them”—this is their “mission” (and perhaps, one day to rule the world and spread the faith by the “rear route”?).
We don’t know whether we should laugh or cry. India with a bursting population of about 1.3 billion should by now be a model of some sort, but as far as we know, it can boast of not much else but an army of motorcycle-riding “5-6ers” around the world! But seriously, if that is how the princes or satraps of the Catholic Church actually argue their case against the RH Law, it is truly pathetic! We can only hope Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez does not use any of those inane and insane arguments if or when he makes good his threat to storm the gates of the Supreme Court with a vigorous petition to snooker the RH Law from taking effect in 2013.—STEPHEN L. MONSANTO, Monsanto Law Office, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, lexsquare.firm@gmail.com

Perhaps the above is short of  understanding on dealing with the advantage of the overpopulation issue here. The issue is not to be laughed at, instead far and wide population is a resources on what purpose and condition it may serve according to the call of circumstances. The Philippine condition of caregivers abroad is the product itself of our own government's inutile service to it's people actually. Our government is cash hungry even at the expense of it's own people putting them in mean jobs.

We say today that over-population is bad because ofcourse of "Corruption", but ofcourse overpopulation will be  Good is there is "Good Governance to it". No one can coin the definition of "over-population" , it will always be on good and bad.

"Over-population is bad when poverty is there, but Over-population without Poverty is Good."

We should come up with a proper and extensive meaning to the 1.3B population of India that to my surprise the inane contrast opinion falls short to the expectation of using properly the advantage of good population like that of India.


There are only two words in this matter, "management and corruption" and we are a victim to it. The good utilization of population lays favor to the side of India supposed to be, the case of mismanagement and corruption deprives them the chance of prosperity on their own population also the same in our case, the Philippines.

Instead of helping each other and building this country morally upright, some view this issue embracing the law of population control for their own excuse for promiscuity.

WHY THEY ARE AROUND US

Children exposed to poverty

BTB a break to smile.

Why they are around us?

The poor children and their families are around in our community, they remain in that  state of poverty begging for a meaning. These questions has been around since the early civilization of man, and it is a fact and a human development to carry them for our progress as persons and society.

The most difficult part is to answer the question that has been the basis of radical formulation to curb population and eradicate poverty today. RH Law, the contraception and population control has done damage on the part of the teachings of the Church who faithfully in obedience to the words of Christ.

The Secular society we live in deals with the conditions of its community to solve it's own defects even in the expense of contradicting the divine teachings for man. There is a breaking point that men with their own god given talents found it irreconcilable to heed the teachings and edicts of God for the ills of their nations and societies.

These ills of poverty means only one thing, that they are here to extract from the harts of men our obedience to God, nothing else.

They are here because our hearts are stone to be softened in their presence. Because God is love, and we are made in their likeness, we should  love things in a difficult way, the test of the poor.

BTB FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2013 Sponsor: Atty; PARADO

ATTORNEY PARADO AND FAMILY- Sponsor.

This January 15, 2013, Attorney Parado and Family will be sponsoring the food for the Children for this particular BTB program.

The family of Attorney Parado have been part of the Breaking the Bread, as he was collaborator and friend of Father Richard Monteiro the founder of the BTB. Member as the legal adviser of the BTB, an active supporter in  the Healing and Social Ministries of the Church, he once again gave his kind heart to sponsor for the children this friday.

The connection of the Parado Family with the BTB is intertwined with the divine purpose, as he was a recipient of a healing miracle three years ago from the healing Mass of Fr. Richard. Diagnosed by his Doctors of kidney stones in the bladder and scheduled the  for operation, was remarkably healed by God. His Doctors was amazed by the disappearance of the stones who are supposed to take the examination prior the operation. The most extra-ordinary changes in their lives is they've save them regular hospitalization because God freed them from illnesses.

Breaking the Bread is not around without God's plan, it is willed by Him. We and the children are here to spring light in the community, to bring courage and hope to those who thought love is extinct on their side. God makes every little way to impose His presence even in the littlest in the midst of odds, in the time where men began to distance and doubt God, gloom on the secular prodding detaching the spirit in us.

Thanking everyone for all the support and admiration, and praying hard to gather the spirits and bind them to God  as always.