Red Cross officials held hostage in southern Philippines

Mary Jean Lacaba, 37, Filipino, Sulu Vice-Governor Nur-Anna Sahidulla, Eugenio Vagni, 62, Italian, and Andreas Notter, 38, Swiss, during a visit of the vice-governor at an undisclosed location.

Pope Benedict has appealed for the release of three Red Cross volunteers being held as hostages in the island province of Sulu in the southernmost part of the Philippines. One can only feel a sense of shame that any group such hold such people hostage. Please pray for them. Their captors, Al-Qaida-linked militants, had threatened to behead one of them at 2pm today, Tuesday, Philippine time, 6am GMT. As I write this at 6:40pm Philippine time, there is no report that such has happened.

Here is the CBCPNews report:

Pope appeals for release of Red Cross hostages

MANILA, March 31, 2009— Pope Benedict XVI made a last minute appeal for the release of three Red Cross workers being held hostage by al-Qaida-linked militants.

The Abu Sayyaf group threatened to behead one of their hostages today unless the government troops leave 15 villages in Jolo island.

The Vatican press office yesterday published a communiqué, saying that the Pontiff is concerned for the safety of the three—two Europeans and a Filipino, who were seized January 15.

Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba were abducted after they visited a water sanitation project in Sulu provincial jail.

Benedict XVI “wants to raise his voice and urge that humanitarian sensibility and reason prevail over violence and intimidation,” the statement said.

"The Holy Father, in the name of God, asks for their release and calls on the authorities to favor a peaceful outcome to the tragic situation.”

“The Holy Father, in the name of God, asks their liberation and begs the authorities to favor ever peaceful solution of this dramatic episode,” it added. (CBCPNews)

Chinese Chutzpah

Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Hong Kong

Imposter-priests have been with us for a long time. At best they are a nuisance, at worst can cause great distress to people, for example, who have gone to ‘confession’ to such a person. But at times you have to admire the ‘neck’ of these people.

One such is You Suibin, a young Chinese man who defrauded people in Hong Kong and in Macau, as reported in the 22 March Sunday Examiner, the English-language weekly of the Diocese of Hong Kong, edited by my Columban colleague from Australia, Fr Jim Mulroney. The story had already appeared on UCANews on 11 March.

The imposter claimed to be Fr Joseph Zhuang Zhoutan of Guangzhou Diocese. When he was found out, searches on the internet revealed his Chinese-language profile that gave his name in English as ‘His Eminence, Cardinal Francis Yau Hsui-bim SDB’. He was ‘ordained’ in 2000, so his ‘elevation’ to ‘cardinal’ in 2005 by Pope John Paul II is quite phenomenal! During his first five years as a ‘priest’ he managed to ‘study and serve’ in Britain, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the USA. Quite a curriculum vitae, though it could also suggest that he couldn’t hold down a job anywhere! And all this despite being still in his early 20s!

Just over a week after I was ordained in December 1967 I celebrated Sunday Mass in Rush, County Dublin, where my paternal grandparents were from and where the Coyle family has lived since before 1800. After Mass I met an Irish priest(?) who said he was working in Fiji. The Columbans have been there since 1951 or thereabouts and I knew the names of all the men were there at the time. I was a little surprised when this man didn’t know any of them. However, being only eight days a priest I didn’t voice my suspicions to the parish priest. But he must have been an imposter.

I remember reading too about the late Bishop Cornelius Lucey of Cork having been taken in by the ‘Archbishop of Jamaica’ who turned out to be an imposter from Newcastle-on-Tyne, I think, in the northwest of England. A good rule of thumb is that Catholic dioceses are usually named after a city or town, even if one happens to be the only diocese in a country, eg, Suva in Fiji, Reyjavík in Iceland, Stockholm in Sweden. (East Anglia in England is an exception and the dioceses of Ireland go back to a time when there were no towns or cities there).

I’ve been ‘had’ a number of times by persons with (im)plausible stories, though never by an imposter-priest. (Real priests are prime targets of beggars, genuine and otherwise). The man I met shortly after my ordination didn’t ask me for anything. When you realize you’ve been caught you tend not to see the funny side of the situation, at least until the pain has subsided. But maybe putting ‘His Eminence’ before his name on his webpage was a ‘cardinal error’ by this young Chinese man. However, he was baptized a few years ago and is therefore a ‘son of Abraham’. And it is from the children of Abraham that we get the word ‘chutzpah’, something that You Suibin had in abundance.

The Annunciation: Celebrating Life

El Greco, The Annunciation 1600s

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA

The Annunciation was a favourite theme of El Greco

The Solemnity of the Annunciation is an appropriate time to highlight the sacredness of the life of the pre-born. A tireless defender of the rights of all human beings, especially those still in their mothers' wombs is Archbishop Charles J. Chaput OFMCap of Denver, Colorado.

Detroit, Mich., Mar 21, 2009 / 12:32 pm (CNA).-

Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput delivered a speech on Saturday reflecting on the significance of the November 2008 election. Warning that media “narratives” should not obscure truth, he blamed the indifference and complacency of many U.S. Catholics for the country’s failures on abortion, poverty and immigration issues.

He also advised Catholics to “master the language of popular culture” and to refuse to be afraid, saying “fear is the disease of our age.”

The archbishop’s comments were delivered in his keynote address at the Hands-On Conference Celebrating the Year of St. Paul, which was hosted at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.

You can read the full report here.

Archbishop Chaput is media-savvy and speaks calmly but clearly. He is not the caricature often depicted of those who defend the right of the pre-born to be born but who, allegedly, don't care for the child once its born. Here is one part of the report with my emphases and comments:

Noting that there was no question about President Barack Obama’s views on abortion “rights,” embryonic stem cell research and other “problematic issues,” he commented:

“Some Catholics in both political parties are deeply troubled by these issues. But too many Catholics just don’t really care. That’s the truth of it. If they cared, our political environment would be different. If 65 million Catholics really cared about their faith and cared about what it teaches, neither political party could ignore what we believe about justice for the poor, or the homeless, or immigrants, or the unborn child. If 65 million American Catholics really understood their faith, we wouldn’t need to waste each other’s time arguing about whether the legalized killing of an unborn child is somehow ‘balanced out’ or excused by three other good social policies.” (I've heard this point of view from priests, none of whom would ever say that abortion is right or good. But there seems to be an unwillingness to look at the horror of what it is).

Offering a sober evaluation of the state of American Catholicism, he added:

“We need to stop over-counting our numbers, our influence, our institutions and our resources, because they’re not real. We can’t talk about following St. Paul and converting our culture until we sober up and get honest about what we’ve allowed ourselves to become. We need to stop lying to each other, to ourselves and to God by claiming to ‘personally oppose’ some homicidal evil -- but then allowing it to be legal at the same time.” (I've often heard Archbishop Chaput speak on the internet and he is a mild-mannered person, but his language here isn't fuzzy).

Commenting on society’s attitude towards Catholic beliefs, Archbishop Chaput said, “we have to make ourselves stupid to believe some of the things American Catholics are now expected to accept.”

You can listen to Archbishop Chaput's Sunday homilies in Denver Cathedral here and, starting only with last Sunday's homily, listen to and view them here.

St Joseph, Husband of Mary

Bartolomé Estebán Murillo, The Two Trinities (1675-82)

Something I’ve come to avert to only within the last couple of years is that the Church honours St Joseph today as the Husband of Mary.

I was blessed to have been born the son of a carpenter whose names were John Joseph, known to his own family and friends as ‘John’ and to my mother and her family as ‘Joe’, because someone had, unusually, shortened ‘John’ to ‘Joe’.

I never cease to thank God for the fact that my Dad was, first of all, a loving and responsible husband and, as such, a loving and responsible father.

Some of my married friends, especially those in Worldwide Marriage Encounter, are probably tired of hearing me remind them that their first vocation is to be spouses and, as such, parents.

When I was in kindergarten, and maybe even before that, I learned that St Joseph was the foster-father of Jesus. More recently I've heard him described as the legal father of Jesus, as he gave Jesus his name, and by that assumed that responsibility.

Yet, with all the titles we have for Mary, we’ve none that echoes the greatest title that the Church gives ot St Joseph on his solemnity today, 'Husband of Mary'.

And if we accept Lex orandi lex credendi, 'the law of prayer is the law of faith', the Church implies by the very title of today's feast that the primary vocation of every married person is to be a spouse, not a parent. It asks us to honour St Joseph first of all as the husband of Mary, rather than as the foster-father or legal father of Jesus, though, of course, it doesn't downplay the importance of that in any way.

Snapshots of the faith in Ireland on St Patrick's Day

When I go home to Ireland I sometimes feel depressed at what I see as a colossal falling away from the Catholic faith. And reports I've read on some St Patricks' Day celebrations in recent years have led me to think that anything to do with the saint and with our Christian faith is purely coincidental.

However, there are signs of hope. Father Gerard Dunne OP highlighted on 22 February on his website, Irish Dominican Vocations, the first profession of Sr Lucy Conway OSsR, in the Redemptoristine Monastery, Drumcondra, Dublin. The Redemptoristines are contemplatives.

Father Dunne wrote: Yesterday, it was my great joy to attend the first profession of a Redempterostine nun, Sr Lucy Conway OSsR (pictured above), at their monastery in Saint Alphonsus Road in Dublin 9. The nuns at the monastery are neighbours of mine and I celebrate the Eucharist for them regularly. Sr Lucy's profession follows on from the recent first profession in the same community of Sr Maura Walsh. As you can imagine this event is one of significant importance to this enclosed contemplative community. I am deep in admiration for these nuns who four or five years ago had no vocations and were facing a very uncertain future. Their commitment to prayer and a deep desire to attract vocations has resulted in the fact that this community of thirteen nuns now has five of its members in formation. This is a truly remarkable achievement and a reminder to all religious orders, congregations, societies and dioceses in this country that if there is a will and a deep desire to foster, nourish and attract vocations then tremendous things can happen.

You can check out the Redemptoristines' website and find a report and many photos of Sister Lucy's profession on their blog.

Photo by Cyril Byrne: Brothers Tony Rice CSsR, Brian Nolan CSsR and Seán Duggan CSsR.

Meanwhile, Patsy McGarry reported in yesterday’s The Irish Times that three men made their final profession as Redemptorists in Dublin last Sunday:

They included Tony Rice (31) from Belfast. Educated at the Belfast Royal Academy he was a customer adviser with Abbey National before joining the Redemptorists in 2001.

Seán Duggan (29) is from Galway city where his parents run a family business in Renmore. He attended secondary school at St Joseph’s Patrician College in Galway, later graduating with a bachelor of corporate law degree from NUIG. He entered the Redemptorists in 2001.

The third man to make his final profession was Brian Nolan (30) from Limerick city. He attended secondary school at St Clement’s College, and studied at the Limerick Institute of Technology for two years, receiving a diploma in computer engineering. He worked in electronics for a year before joining the Redemptorists in 2000.

Another Redemptorist story was featured in The Irish Times on 14 February as Lorna Siggins reported on the annual novena in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Galway Cathedral. This is a novena in the strict sense, ie, nine days, unlike the perpetual novena in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that is so popular here in the Philippines since it was introduced by the Redemptorists in 1946 and which Filipinos have now brought to other countries.

The Irish Times has an excellent slideshow on the Galway novena here.

Ironically, the Redemptorists formally left Bacolod City, where I'm based, yesterday, handing over their church and monastery to the Diocese of Bacolod. The Irish Redemptorists came here around 1950. In 1996 the Vice-Province of Ireland, which covered the central and southern Philippines, became a separate province. Luzon is still a vice-province of Australia. As far as I know, the basic reason for the decision of the Redemptorists to leave Bacolod is lack of vocations to their congregation here in the Philippines.

May St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland and of Nigeria, who wasn't Irish, obtain the grace of a renewal of faith in Ireland.

Corruption in the Philippines has become family-based, says bishop

Corruption in RP has become family-based, says bishop

This story by Melo Acuna is from CBCPNews. I've highlighted some parts of it and have added [some comments]. 'RP' means 'Republic of the Philippines'.

MANILA, March 16, 2009—Call it corruption: the Filipino style.
When it comes to corruption, there’s one thing that makes the Philippines distinct from other countries, a Roman Catholic bishop has said.

Sadly but true, Balanga Bishop Socrates B. Villegas said what used to be strong family bonds have been ‘abused and corrupted.’

“The singular trademark of graft and corruption in the Philippines, it seems to me, is that our type of corruption is family-based,” he said.

One example, Villegas cited, is the “shadow of corruption” that perennially haunts President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband. [In my almost 38 years in the Philippines I have never seen such shameless corruption, whether family-based or not, as today].

The controversy hounding former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, his wife and two sons—all get entangled in graft cases here and abroad is another example, he said.

Villegas said the “corruption syndicate” is either husband and wife partnership or a father and son connivance or a whole family in cahoots.

“Corruption is done through the family, with the family and in the family,” the 48-year old bishop lamented.

“I have always known that the Filipinos are known for strong family ties. Our strong family bonds have been abused and corrupted. It is our sad reality,” he said.

Bad to worse

The former protégé of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin said the country’s situation has “deteriorated” because of rampant corruption in the society.

The glaring proof that corruption has reached its alarming state, he said, is that “families are no longer just corruptible but have become blatantly corrupt and corrupting.”

“We have turned from bad to worse,” Villegas lamented.

Villegas’ statement is contained in his reflection in time for the feast of St. Joseph, the patron saint of the cathedral of the Diocese of Balanga, on March 19.

Resurrection

While a family-based corruption is not new, he also cited the “conjugal dictatorship” of former President Marcos and his wife.

In those days, he said, the country rallied and protested against crony families and fought the family political dynasties.

“The reasons for our social discontent thirty years ago have resurrected,” said Villegas, who was a former Manila Auxiliary bishop.

Today, Villegas also chairs the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCC) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Praying together as family

Villegas then called on for the restoration of the integrity of the Filipino family which requires everyone to “start praying again in the family.” [I have often been edified by seeing Filipino families in restaurants praying grace together before they eat].

He said that the faithful cannot just dismiss the “time tested” wisdom of Father Patrick Peyton that “the family that prays together stays together.”

“When family prays, they stay together with God,” he added.

Villegas also said that there is a need to start “simplifying our lives because “the most essential things in life are not available in the malls as what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

He further cited the basics of family life where family members eat together, “not just to satisfy hunger but to be with one another.” [I've been convinced of this since I went to study in the USA in 1968 and saw that families had to really work at being families, with the family meal being central. Growing up in Ireland this was a given, Sunday dinner being the family high-point of the week, and I had never reflected on it].

He also stressed the need to start telling stories again in the family “simple day to day stories, trivial and seemingly unimportant things, fairy tales and legends for children” as he stressed the need “to share our dreams and visions, our hopes and plans, our nightmares and worries, our sadness and joys in the family living room.” [Conversation at the family meal enables this to happen naturally as does time spent with the children, especially when they are young].

Better nation

Can such family acts fight corruption? “Believe me—when fear of God is brought back to the family, we will be a better nation,” Villegas said. [The 'fear of God' is not that of a slave but rather a profound respect for God's will and a desire to do it].

“When a sense of honor and dignity returns to the home, we will be able to bounce back to moral uprightness. When our passion to preserve our good name is taught again, our youth and children will choose to die rather than sin. When lying and cheating and petty stealing are punished severely at home, society will have less criminals,” he said. [On thing I am profoundly grateful to my parents for is the honesty they lived by. We never had to be punished in this area because we imbibed their values].

Sounding ever optimistic, the bishop said as soon as honor takes precedence over money “we will be able to turn back the clock of corruption” simply because “the best school is the family” as there is “no teacher better than a credible parent.” [See my comment just above].

Villegas said there’s hope the corrupt and corrupting Filipino family “can become a sanctified and sanctifying family.”

He added that in a corrupt country, the first victim is the family and the country’s renewal will also begin in the family “by turning to the Holy Family.” (Melo Acuna)

Obama is no champion of science

Father Raymond J. de Souza is a Canadian priest who writes a weekly column in the National Post, a daily newspaper. He also has his own website where you can access all his articles.

Father de Souza's topic yesterday was Obama is no champion of science. He makes the point that research with adult stem cells, which involves no ethical difficulties, has been producing results in terms of treatment for various diseases. Stem cell research, involving human embryos, which involves killing human life, is going nowhere in terms of leading to cures for anything. He begins thus:

The scientists were jubilant, as men are when dividing the spoils. On Monday, President Barack Obama signed an executive order making available federal funding for stem cell research that destroys human embryos. It was widely described, erroneously -- even on the front page of the Post -- as a reversal of George W. Bush's "ban" on embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). Bush never banned ESCR; it has always been legal in the United States to create and destroy human embryos in order to harvest their stem cells. Bush only prevented federal funding from being used for embryo-destructive research.

That should not have been a problem in a wealthy country that spends hundreds of millions to advertise Viagra. If ESCR was going to be the thaumaturgical wonder its proponents claimed, the gateway to cures for every malady known to man, then private funding should have been plentiful. A cure for Parkinson's (Michael J. Fox was enthusiastic), for spinal injuries (Obama spoke about the late Christopher Reeve), for Alzheimer's (Nancy Reagan agrees too) -- what Big Pharma company wouldn't invest in research that would yield such lucrative therapies?

You can read the whole article here.

Father de Souza is writing about a man who said on national TV while campaigning to become president of the USA that knowing when life begins was 'above my pay grade'. (He later apologised for his 'flippancy').

One thing about Barack Obama is that so far he is keeping his campaign promises to promote abortion, not only in his own country, but overseas. One is tempted to say 'Yankee Imperialist'.