philippines – NZ Catholic Newspaper

Philippine archbishop recalls deceased Cardinal Sin in time of upheaval

Rowena Orejana — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 00:31:12 +0000

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Expressing concern about thousands of deaths in the nation’s so-called “war on drugs,” the president of the Philippine bishops’ conference has sought courage from a deceased cardinal whose influence helped overthrow a dictator in the mid-1980s.echo $variable;

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Pope to meet with sex abuse victims, confirms investigation of Bertone

Michael Otto — Tue, 27 May 2014 21:13:05 +0000

By Francis X. Rocca

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM TEL AVIV (CNS) — Pope Francis will meet with a group of sex abuse victims for the first time in June, he told reporters May 26.

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists aboard the flight to Rome May 26. (CNS/Paul Haring)

During a wide-ranging inflight news conference on his return to Rome from the Holy Land, the pope also confirmed reports the Vatican is investigating charges its former secretary of state misappropriated 15 million euro from the Vatican bank. And he announced he plans to visit the Philippines and Sri Lanka in January.
The pope described the abuse of children by priests as “such an ugly crime” and a “very grave problem,” the betrayal of a priest’s duty to lead young people to holiness, comparable to performance of a Black Mass.
“We must move ahead, ahead, zero tolerance,” he said.
As an indication of how seriously he takes the problem, the pope said he would meet soon with a group of six to eight sex abuse victims from various countries, including Germany, the U.K. and Ireland. He also will celebrate a private Mass with the group in the Vatican guesthouse, where he lives. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, a member of the recently established Vatican commission on child protection, will be present at the gathering, the pope said.
The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, told reporters the next day that the exact date for the meeting had not been set but that it would be soon.
Pope Francis is not known ever to have met with a group of sex abuse victims, something Pope Benedict did several times in various countries. Marie Collins, a sex abuse survivor from Ireland whom the pope named to the child protection commission, met him at the Vatican in May.
Pope Francis said the church cannot have privileged “daddy’s boys,” exempt from punishment when it comes to sex abuse of minors. He revealed that three unnamed bishops are currently under investigation by the Vatican for misdeeds related to sex abuse, and another has been found guilty and is awaiting punishment. It was not clear if the bishops in question had been accused of personally abusing children or of mishandling accusations of abuse by priests.
The pope also was asked about reports that Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who as Vatican secretary of state was considered the highest Vatican official, mishandled 15 million euro in funds held by the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank.
“It’s something being studied, it’s not clear,” the pope said. “Maybe it’s the truth, but at this moment it’s not definitive.”
Pope Francis said the Vatican bank was a case study of financial reforms now underway in the Vatican under the new Secretariat for the Economy led by Cardinal George Pell. The bank has closed some 1,600 accounts held by “persons who didn’t have the right,” because they were not church officials or institutions, the pope said.
“But there will still be incongruities, there always will be, because we’re human,” he said. “The reform must be continual.”
The pope answered several questions about his just-ended three-day visit to the Holy Land.
Looking ahead to other travels, Pope Francis said his second trip to Asia, after a visit to Korea in August, will take him to Sri Lanka for two days in January and then to the Philippines, where he will visit areas struck by Typhoon Haiyan last November.
Asked if he might follow his predecessor’s lead and ever resign, Pope Francis said he would pray for the wisdom to obey God’s will, but added that Pope Benedict had “opened a door” to the possibility of other retired popes and would not remain a “unique case.”
Pope Francis said the door is also open to allowing more married priests in the Catholic Church, in the Latin rite as well as the Eastern Catholic churches where the practice is already established.
“Celibacy is not a dogma of faith, it is a rule of life that I appreciate very much and believe to be a gift for the church,” the pope said. “Not being a dogma of faith, the door is always open.”
Discussing what he has frequently called a “throwaway culture,” the product of a “worldwide economic system centered on money, not the human person,” the pope said that culture is exemplified not only by youth unemployment and neglect of the elderly, problems he has cited before, but also by low fertility rates in Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain.
Regarding the two Synods of Bishops on the family he has called for this October and October 2015, the pope lamented what he characterized as an overemphasis, by members of the clergy among others, on the question of when divorced and civilly remarried Catholics may receive Communion.
The pope said focusing on that question posed the risk of “casuistry,” which he has defined in the past as the practice of setting general laws on the basis of exceptional cases. He emphasized the synods would consider the pastoral care of the family in its totality.
“Today, we know, the family is in crisis, it’s a worldwide crisis, the young don’t want to marry or they live together,” Pope Francis said. “The pastoral problem of the family is very large, very large.”

END

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NZ bishops lead Masses for the Philippines

NZ Catholic Staff — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 00:49:47 +0000

by NZ CATHOLIC staff
WELLINGTON — The Catholic Bishops of New Zealand have expressed their sympathy to all those who lost loved ones as a result of Super-typhoon Haiyan, and are leading Masses to pray for the Filipino community here and overseas. 
In a statement, the bishops said: “The loss of life, injuries, displacement and destruction on a large scale is a devastating tragedy for the people of the Philippines. We pray for them as they search for those that are missing, as they mourn their dead and as they work to restore essential services.”
The Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Patrick Dunn, led a Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral on November 13, and Archbishop John Dew led a special Mass on November 14 at at Sts Peter & Paul, Lower Hutt.
Other Masses will be celebrated as follows:
 Hamilton  7pm, Friday November  15, Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Grey St, Hamilton.
 Christchurch  6.30pm, Friday November  22, St Teresa of Lisieux, Puriri St, Riccarton.
 4pm, December  8, Christ the King, Greers Rd, Burnside.
 7pm, December  8, Ashburton .
For more information, contact Simone Olsen, 021 611 052.

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Priest-killer may have been caught

Michael Otto — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:05:05 +0000

MANILA (CWN) — Police in the Philippines have announced the arrest of a man suspected in the murder of Fr Fausto Tentorio.
The Italian missionary was shot down in Arakan, on the island of Mindanao, on October 17. On December 29, the justice ministry announced that the prime suspect, Jimmy Ato, had been taken into custody along with his brother after a gunfight. “Fortunately, nobody was injured” as the Ato brothers were arrested, the ministry said.
Eyewitnesses at the scene identified Jimmy Ato as the gunman who killed Fr Tentorio. Others said that his brother had been driving the vehicle that he used to escape after the killing.
Church officials on Mindanao had been prodding the government to accelerate the investigation of the crime, noting that human-rights violations have become more common in the region, where Islamic activists are pushing for autonomous rule.

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Filipino bishop celebrates Mass at bombed cathedral

Catholic News Service — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:00:00 +0000

MANILA (CNS) Bishop Martin Jumoad of Isabela celebrated Mass at his cathedral after it was damaged in bomb attacks. “I have texted church members about the Mass for the victims and a candlelighting ceremony at the plaza at 6 p.m. with our Muslim partners so we can show our collective condemnation and yearning for an

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Catholic organisations aid Philippine victims of flooding

Washington (CNS) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (CNS) Catholic charitable organisations are stepping up to help victims in the Philippines after the worst flood in decades hit in late September. "Many of the people who have lost everything are sleeping in schools right now," said Luc Picard, Catholic Relief Services’ country representative in Manila, Philippines. "They’re calling this the Katrina of

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Family, friends praise former Philippine president at funeral Mass

Michael Otto — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:00:00 +0000

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) The daughter of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino said her mother’s words as she lay dying "Take care of each other" were "not meant just for our family". Through tears Kris Aquino-Yap delivered her family’s message to more than 2,000 people who attended her mother’s funeral Aug. 5 in the Manila cathedral,

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Pope deplores bomb blast near Philippine church, violence in world

Vatican City (CNS) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:00:00 +0000

VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope Benedict XVI has deplored a bomb blast that killed five and injured dozens near a cathedral in the southern Philippines. He called the July 5 attack "an ignoble gesture" and condemned "the recourse to violence which is never an appropriate way to solve existing problems." At the end of his July

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Pope prays for victims of Philippines ferry disaster

Vatican City (CNS) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope Benedict XVI has prayed for the victims of a ferry disaster that left hundreds dead off the coast of the Philippines. The boat carrying about 800 people ran aground and capsized in a typhoon on June 21. Two days later, only 38 survivors had been found. The Pope, speaking at his

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60 Filipinos gather for Southland Mass

Michael Otto — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0000

WINTON The rapidly changing face of rural Southland was highlighted in a religious way with the presence of 60 Catholic Filipinos at 10am Mass in the Church of St Thomas Aquinas, Winton, on a recent Sunday. Organised by Marilyn Hilaga, the volunteers supplied greeters, prayer readers, Offertory bearers and other personnel associated with lay duties

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