Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas

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Part of Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas

Title: Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas
Description: An official Interdiocesan organ published bi-monthly by the University of Santo Tomas and printed at U.S.T. Press Manila Philippines.
Issue Date: Volume XLV (Issue No. 500) January 1971
Year: 1971
Language: English; Spanish
Subject: Catholic Church--Philippines--Periodicals.; Philippines -- Religion -- Periodicals.
Rights
Place of publication: Manila
extracted text: Bdletin Eclesiastico de PILIPINAS OFFICIAL INTERDIOCESAN ORGAN Vol. XLV • No. 500 January, 1971 Boletin Eclesiastico de piLIPINAS EDITORIAL STAFF ACTING DIRECTOR ASSISTANT EDITOR JOSE B. TINOKO. O P. JOHN D’AQUINO. O P. EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS FRANCISCO DEL RIO. O.P. QUINTIN M. GARCIA. O.P. II SUS MERINO. O.P. FIDI I. \ II.I.ARROF.L. O.P. LEONARDO /. LEGASPI. O.P. EFREN. RIVERA. O.P. BUSINESS MANAGER POMPEYO DE MESA. O.P. FLORENCIO TESTER A, O.P. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Official Interdiocesan Organ is published monthly by the University of Santo Tomas and is printed at U.S.T. Press, Manila, Philippines. Entered as Second Class Mail Matter at the Manila Post Office on June 21, 1946. Subscription Rates. Yearly subscription in the Philippines, P15.00; Two Years, P26.00; Three Years, P40.00. Abroad, $5.00 a year. Price per copy, Pl.50. Subscriptions are paid in advance. Communications of an editorial nature concerning articles, cases and reviews should be addressed to the Editor. Advertising and subscription enquiries should be addressed to the Business Manager. Orders for renewals or changes of address should in clude both old and new address, and will go into effect fifteen days after notification. Address all communications to: BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Fathers' Residence University of Santo Tomas Manila D-403 Philippines Vol. XLV • No. 500 January, 1971 TABLE OF CONTENTS EDITORIAL A Magnificent Legacy 2 THE POPE SPEAKS (in the Philippines) On Arrival at the Manila Airport; To the Mayor and City Officials of Manila; At the Cathedral; To the Crowd at the Luneta,- To the President; To the Diplomatic Corps; At the University of - Sto. Tomas; To the Bishops; During the Ordination to the Priesthood and First Communion in Manila; To the Delegation From Cebu; To the Vietnamese; To the Delegation From Formosa; To Papal Representatives; To the Youth, the Workers, the Poor, and to the People; To the Peoples of Asia; At the Inauguration of New Housing Project; To the Lay Group; To the Non-Catholic Christians; To the Non-Christians; To the Members of the Jewish Community; To the Members of the Philippine Bible Society; in Tondo, And before the Departure from Manila 3 DOCUMENTATION Telegrams of the Pope to the Philippines The Seven Position Papers in the Pan Asian Meeting of Episcopal Conferences Manila, November 23-29, 1970 Pontifical Bulls — Re: Most Rev. James Hayes, D.D. and Most Rev. Patrick Cronin, D.D. 52 53 65 PASTORAL SECTION Homiletics — 4th (Jan. 31), 5th (Feb. 7), 6th (Feb- 14), 7th (Feb. 21) Sundays of the Year; and 1st Sunday of Lent (Feb. 28) by EFREN RIVERA, OP 67 HISTORICAL SECTION History ot the Church in the Philippines 1521-1898 (continued) by PABLO FERNANDEZ, OP 75 EDITORIAL A Magnificent Legacy Long after the last applause and cheer shall have vanished, when the happy memory of Pope Paul Vi's visit to the Philippines shall have become but a chapter in the pages of history, what will remain precious to the minds and hearts of the Filipinos will be the impact of his words and the lingering message of his speeches. During the span of 34 hours last November, when the first Roman Pontiff ever to step on Philippine soil was with us, a total of twenty-three speeches and messages were delivered to all Fili pinos of every walk of lite, status and religion. There was a mes sage for the Filipino clergy, laity, non-Catholics, non-Christians and Jews. There were special messages to farmers, workers, students, diplomats and members of the fourth estate. The present issue which is a commemorative of the historical visit contains all the speeches and messages Pope Paul VI delivered during his last stay with us the past November 27-29, 1970. In compiling and publishing them, wo had in mind not only those who could not be present personally to listen to them, but also those who were lucky to be on hand to hear them and having been struck by the depth and richness of its lessons desire to have a permanent record of the same for posterity. Surely, those brief hours that Pope Paul walked our land, when the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the powerful and the lowly, the believer and unbeliever were welded together by an unexplicable force; when the frustration of a series of cala mities were temporarily forgotten and the discontent over an in effective government did not for a while matter; belongs not only to the hearts of the Filipinos but their minds cs well and will live forever as a valuable memory and a magnificent legacy. THE POPE SPEAKS in the Philippines ADDRESS ON ARRIVAL AT THE MANILA AIRPORT 'May the peace of Christ come down and dwell here.. On November 27, 1970, His Holiness Pope Paul VI made history by being the first Pope ever to land on Philippine soil and visit the country for (hat matter. At the Manila International Airport where his special Alitalia jet landed, he gave this speech which was to be the first of a series to be given during his 3’day stay here. Here we are in the Philippines, in this great land so dear to our heart. We greet it with great joy, in the name of the Lord, who sends us just as he sent Peter and the Apostles across the world. May the peace of Christ come down and dwell in it. We offer our respectful greeting to you, Mister President, who have had the great courtesy to come and welcome us. We thank you in the name of the Lord. For us it is an honor and a pleasure to spend a few hours in the midst of the Filipino people, whose admirable hospitality is being shown to us from this very moment in such a cordial fashion. We greet you, venerable brothers in the episcopate, and in particular sou who are the Cardinal of Manila, whose great diocese, so rich in history and virtues, offers a welcome at this first contact of a Pope with the Far East. We have come to bring you the assurance of our fraternal affection and to manifest our desire of communion with you in your pastoral responsibilities. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS To you, the people of the Philippines, who have gathered here in such great numbers to bring us the first homage of your generous hearts, we express cur affectionate greeting, our great joy at having been given the grace to come to you and our deep desire to proclaim cur attachment for your people who, in the course of history, have given proof in such a wonderful way of the depth of their faithWe come here in obedience to our spiritual mission: we have come to take part in the deliberations of the Conference of the bishops of the whole Eastern Asia. We wish to seek together, in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, how best to proclaim the Gospel to the men of this time and of this continent. We are seeking to make an eternal and universal message an answer to the questions asked by the man of today. The Gospel is for all men, the message of salvation. We invoke upon you the abundance of divine grace. May God bless you and your good intentions, may he grant prosperity to the great nation of the Philippines. TO THE MAYOR AND CITY OFFICIALS OF MANILA '.. .public service... demands that, before all else, what is need ful should be done to ensure that every individual has what is indispensable for him to lead a human life." At the door of the Manila Cathedral, Manila Mayor Antonio Villegas presented to His Holiness the symbolic key to the city. In response. Pope Paul was to have given the following address to him and the city officials. However, because of unforeseen changes in his schedule the speech was also omitted. Your Honor, Gentlemen, We greet you and wish to say how happy we are to have the opportunity of meeting the administrative officials of the very great city of Manila. We wish likewise to express our special gratitude to THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES you who have worked so successfully and effectively in organizing this visit. Through you we wish to thank also all the people of the capital for their demonstrations of enthusiasm, welcome and affection for our person. Manila is famed throughout the world for the beauty of its position, and is no less famed for the richness of its history and for the vitality of its cultural activities. In it and about it a people has been formed, endowed with a great and attractive personality and witnessing a special civilization in which through the course of the centuries the most diverse influences have blended together. The administration of so important a city as Manila is an almost superhuman task, and we are struck by the size and scale of the ques tions calling for your devotion and competence. Year after year, the flood of new arrivals, added to the rapid advance of the city’s own population, aggravates your problems of housing, food, employment, sanitation, health and education. The sad thing is that it is the poorest who are in the greatest need, and do not have the means of remedying it. That is an indication of the great esteem we have for your functions and the fervor of our prayers to the Lord to sustain you in the carrying out of your duties, in order that, in spite of their complexity, the great virtues of every public service may be held in honor. And public ser vice, as you well know, demands that, before all else, the needful should be done to ensure that every individual has what is indispensable for him to lead a human life. This includes, above all, food, work, housing, and the recognition of each individual’s dignity. What a marvelous mission for one who makes it his life and remains faithful to his con science! Our wish for the city of Manila is that its life, based on mutual understanding, will welcome the complementary differences of all its parts. We hope that a dynamic rivalry, however, for the progress and well-being of all, with every man treating others as he would like them to treat him (cf. Lk 6:51). With these wishes, we invoke upon you and your families, on all your collaborators and on all the people of Manila abundant divine blessings. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS AT THE CATHEDRAL: BISHOPS, CLERGY, RELIGIOUS "With fatherly affection we greet you, our brothers..." Pope Paul Vi's first Holy Mass in the Philippines was celebrated at the Manila Cathedral where bishops, priests and religious had assembled. His Holiness spoke to them as follows: Venerable brothers in the episcopate, Dear sons and daughters, We have just arrived on Philippine soil, and we have wanted to make our first stop here in this Cathedral, to greet you. We thank you for your affectionate and cordial welcome. From the bottom of our heart we offer you the greeting exchanged by the followers of the same Jesus Christ. It is in his name that we have come among you: it is to glorify and thank him for the wonders accomplished in this part of Asia and in so 'many other countries of this great continent. It is in order that the Church may pursue with renewed zeal her work of salvation that we have desired to take part in the deliberations of this first general Conference of the bishops of Asia. To God through Jesus Christ be honor for ever and ever (cf- Rom 16:27). Allow us, dear venerable brothers, to express all the esteem and respect that we have for you and for your heavy tasks. Vast distances often separate you from one another; immense populations demand your pastoral generosity. God grant that this fraternal meeting may strengthen you in the exercise of a divine gift bestowed on you — to watch over and serve the People of God, in power and love (cf. 2 Tim 1:7). You we greet with fatherly affection who are the members of the clergy, diocesan and missionary, and you who are Religious. You also are our brothers and sisters in the faith common to all of us; you are the special object of God’s goodness, which has given you the grace to serve in a special way the saving work of the Church. A vocation to the priesthood or to the practice of the evangelical counsels is in fact a sign of great love by him who has chosen you THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 7 out from a large number and called you to share his friendship in a special way: “I shall not call you servants any more,” said Our Lord, “because a servant does not know his master’s business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father” (Jn 15:15). May your hearts be ever filled with gratitude and joy for this precious gift of your vocation! What a joy it is for the Pope to see you all gathered here in this sacred place of prayer. Our first wish is to render heartfelt homage to the generations of missionaries who, from the first beginnings, have built up this admirable Christian community of the Philippines, of which you, the priests and the Religious of this land, are the finest witness. Coming as you do from varying backgrounds, united in fraternal love in one faith and dedicated to the service of one and the same Master, you have answered love with love. One is not always able to give due recognition to the depth of your sacrifice and to the sometimes heroic perseverance which you must have to live out your lives in the service of others, and most often of the poorest. Nor is it easy to appreciate fully the deep meaning of your lives, for they are not motivated by human interest, but illuminated by faith. “It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted” (Mt 19:11), as Our Lord likewise tells us. We willingly affirm aloud that the priesthood and the religious life are the best signs of the vitality of a Christian community, and its finest treasure; they are the very expression of the life and holiness of the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, 44). The task which is yours is often exacting. Even though the world to which you devote yourselves manifests a surprising richness of natural virtues and a remarkable religious spirit, it demands your time, your skill and your heart, without allowing you rest. “The harvest is rich but the laborers are few” (Mt 9:37 and Lk 10:2). New situations are arising, particularly with the development of towns, the increasing proportion of young people and the influence of social com munications- All these demand that you give your attention to new social groups, adopting certain pastoral and teaching methods. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Providentially, the universal Church has the benefit at this time of the rich doctrinal and pastoral documents of the Second Vatican Council. We urge you to draw from them the inspiration for your undertakings, in close communion with your bishops and superiors. Take courage, dear sons and daughters. It is the Lord who has called you and who sends you out. It is his work that you are doing: “We are God’s fellow workers” (cf. 2 Cor 6:1) you can say with Saint Paul. Therefore be faithful to Jesus Christ. Nourish your gift of self at the inexhaustible fount which is the Eucharist. The more fervent your union with Christ, the richer will be the life of the Church and the more fruitful its apostolate (cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 1). Have a solid devotion to the Mother of God, who is so honored in your land. As a pledge of our fatherly affection and our encouragement, we give you with all our heart our Apostolic Blessing. GREETING TO THE CROWD AT THE LUNETA 'To all of you... we address our affectionate greeting..." Alter the Mass at the Manila Cathedral, Pope Paul VI was sche duled to address a big crowd gathered at the Luneta alter which he would impart a special apostolic blessing. However, due to lack ol time, the plan was abandoned. Here is a copy oi the prepared speech. It is with great emotion that we view the spectacle of the crowd gathered here to greet our lowly person, the Vicar of Jesus Christ. Your joy and your gratitude are ours too, dear sons and daughters of the Philippines. What a proof your welcome gives of your great hospitality! To all of you here present we address our affectionate greeting, a greeting which rises from the heart of one who is the Father of all THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES the faithful. Through you we greet all those — and they are the majority — who were not able to come to meet us. May our most affectionate greeting go to the students, the country people, the workers, the mothers of families, the sick and the poor. Let them know the special place that they hold in the heart of the Pope, for they too are representatives of Jesus Christ in our midst. We have great joy in greeting the youth of the Philippines, who are present here in such large numbers. They are already the great strength of this country. May God uphold their rightful aspirations and inspire them to contribute to building a happy society in justice and brotherhood. Dear sons and daughters of the Philippines, your reputation has gone not only beyond your innumerable islands, but even beyond the great frontiers of Asia to reach the entire world. We thank God for your religious spirit and for your attachment to the Catholic religion. We pray to him to make your faith ever more active in all aspects of your life. Asia is so rich in virtues, individual and family ones, and in traditions and dynamism; within it the Christian life should also find expression in a resolute commitment to serve mankind, the whole man and every man. Our journey is placed under the standard of the mission by which |esus Christ sent his apostles to proclaim his message to the world. We have ccme to meet those in positions of responsibility within the Catholic Church in the Philippines and the' bishops who are the dele gates from all the Far East; our aim is to seek together the best ways of communicating the Gospel, the good news of salvation, to this part of the world, while respecting the values that belong to each people. We ask you for your prayers for the happy conclusion of this meeting. May the blessing of Almighty God ccme down upon you and your families. May it sustain your efforts and hopes. May it win for you peace in fraternal understanding. May it be for the entire Republic of the Philippines a pledge of spiritual, moral and social progress. 10 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS SPEECH TO THE PRESIDENT "The Church holds in great esteem the servants of the public good •who ensure its tasks for the service of all." At 5:00 p.m. on November 27, 1970, His Holiness called on President Ferdinand E. Marcos in Malacanang. During his brief visit there, he addressed the president thus: Mister President, We are happy to present our respectful greeting to Your Excellency as head and highest representative of the great nation of the Philippines. We wish likewise to thank you for the remarkable welcome which we received on arriving on your soil- Your offer to give us hospitality in your residence was deeply appreciated, but our practice obliges us to stay at the Apostolic Nunciature. We feel, nevertheless, that we are fully the guest of the Filipino people, and so your guest. Thank you again. We have been informed of the lofty and upright intentions which have inspired and still inspire the policies of your Government. We are certain that this cordial meeting between the humble successor, of Peter and the holder of the highest office among the dear Filipino people — the only people in the Far East that is Christian in the greater part — will likewise be an effective spur for a new and more vigorous effort in favor of men. We are thinking of an effort to be made through a more equitable distribution of the riches of this coun try which has been blessed by God, a real and integral development of individuals and communities, a human advancement — especially of the most needy classes — a deeper awareness at all levels, not only of one’s rights, but still more and above all of one’s duties towards other men, other fellow human beings, and towards the whole community. The object of our visit to Manila is of the spiritual order; it has an apostolic character. Great would be our joy if by our visit the Catholic people were made firm in their faith and in the sincere and THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 11 coherent expression of it. Great would it be if they were spurred on to seek a happy blending of their religious heritage with the new needs of the modem world. We would like to see strengthened their readi ness to live in good understanding with all, to promote social develop ment in the name of the charity of Christ whose witnesses they are, to prize the civic qualities of integrity, disinterestedness and equal service of all. These qualities are the basis of the prosperity of great, free and united peoples. To your illustrious collaborators we likewise present our respectful greeting and the assurance of our esteem for the greatness of their functions. The Church holds in great esteem the servants of the pub lic good who ensure its tasks for the service of all. By according recognition and respect to the rights of persons, families and groups, and by their care for fairness and for economic and social progress, they do honor to Christianity,, from which these virtues derive (cf. Rom 13:7). May God bless yourselves and your families. May he reward your devotedness and your admirable hospitality with his abundant graces. TO THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS "Be peacemakers among the nations..." Returning to the Apostolic Nunciature in Taft Avenue alter his visit to Malacanang, Pope Paul VI met with the different members of the diplomatic corps in the evening of the same day. On the occasion, this message was delivered to the assembly of ambas sadors and consuls. Gentlemen, As we come to this part of the world to meet the Catholic bishops of Asia, we have the pleasure in taking this occasion to present our good 12 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS wishes for the prosperity of the peoples whom you represent. Many of them maintain most cordial relations with the Holy See. It is in fulfillment of our spiritual mission that we have undertaken this long journey, which is to bring us to various centres of the immense continent of Asia, as well as to Australia, where we are to meet the Catholic hierarchy of the continent. Although our journey has therefore no political character, we still have the greatest joy in greeting the people of the various countries through which we are passing, and in giving them assurance of the Catholic Church’s affection and wish to serve them, as well as the deep esteem she has for the nobility of their cultural and religious traditions. In the very line of our pastoral responsibility, we hope that our journey will also be seen as a sign of peace and social progress, which we have set up as important aims of our pontificate. It is our constant prayer that the hearts of all men, irrespective of their social position, but especially those in positions of responsibility, may be open to sentiments of peace, solidarity, social justice and service to the common good. Development is the great challenge of this decade. It is our generation that is called upon and must give the response. We shall be judged by the generosity of our commitment. You, gentlemen, have the great mission of being men of dialogue. Be peacemakers among the nations, for peace is the first of blessings: it is the condition for other blessings and at the same time their perfect ion. Be also before your Governments advocates, in the name of our universal brotherhood, of international aid for less favored peoples. “World unity, ever more effective”, we said in our encyclical “Populorum Progressio” (65), “should allow all peoples to become artisans of their own destiny. .. The younger or weaker nations ask to assume their active part in the construction of a better world, one which shows deeper respect for the rights and the vocation of the individual. This is a legitimate appeal; everyone should hear it and respond to it.” In so doing, you will have deserved the gratitude of mankind, and God will bless you- With all our heart we invoke his divine assistance on yourselves, your families, your countries and your efforts. THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 13 AT THE UNIVERSITY OF STO. TOMAS ".. .a great responsibility is yours and what a valuable contribution you make to the march of mankind..." On the morning of November 28, 1970 Pope Paul addressed a mammoth rally of 500,000 at the parade grounds of the Pontilical and Royal University of Sto. Tomas. This is his message to the students of the land. In you we greet the university world of the Philippines. We wish to express first of all our great esteem for the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas which has welcomed us today. It is a university which is one of the most renowned for the richness of its history, one of the most important in number of students and one of the most well-known for the care it devotes to education of high quality. To you, Professors, we express our greetings and the respect which is due to men of learning and to educators. Arc you not involved in that search for truth which is so important for man? We are well aware that it takes a great deal of wisdom to distinguish the different ways whereby one pursues the search for total truth. There is the way — to put it in a word — of human reasoning! it is the way of science, which enjoys the freedom and autonomy of natural thought. There is likewise the way of faith; it is the gift of the Spirit’s illumination and our soul’s response to God’s revealing Word. The distinction and the synthesis demand a sensitive operation, but one that is also possible, magnificent and vital. And then it calls for a certain courage to state and defend the whole truth. May Christ be your model, he who gave his life in witness to the truth (cf. Jn. 18:37). All progress towards truth redounds to the glory of God. Does it not also lead to the en counter with him who above all others is the Teacher and whose word frees from error and lies? (cf. Mt. 23:8; Jn. 8:32). In pursuing your task vou respond to the expectations of your brothers. What a great responsibility is yours, and what a valuable contribu tion you make to the march of mankind which, through its laborious 14 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS quest of an earthly city ruled by justice and freedom, goes in search of him who called himself “the way, the truth and the life” (Jn. 14:6). Dear students, we great you with the deepest loving interest and with all our paternal affection. Today is your hour. You are the ad vancing vanguard of your country. Your responsibility as intellectuals is supreme for the future of your nation. We understand your aspira tion to involve yourselves more actively in the life of your people. We know that your dynamism, hand in hand with your special sensitivity, has helped your elders to gain a better grasp of the problems that must be solved. The youth of the Philippines, like that of all Asia, is on the march. Allow us in this regard to ask some questions: Do you know in which direction to go? Have you a clear picture of the goals you are aiming at? Are you dedicated to the search for true values? Docs your wish to serve your brothers manifest itself in practical choices that prepare you to promote effectively the.-progress of the many? Are you convinced that one can only be truly free to the extent that one is responsible? Your age is an age of criticism — and criticism can be very useful to society, which always falls short of perfection. Your age is also an age of generous self-giving, and this the Filipino people expect of you. What is asked of you is a balanced harmony of these two attitudes. Your considerable numbers in the universities speak for your intelligence and your thirst for culture; they also at the same time create obligations of a seriousness rarely to be found in history. The Church wishes to help you to reply to these vital questions, for your own sake and for that of your brothers- She has received the mission to spread throughout the world the Gospel of salvation. This message, which comes to us from God, is the supreme answer to man’s aspirations for total self realization. But who will believe this Gospel, unless it is brought by convinced witnesses? Who will accept its liberating power if its heralds are not themselves liberated from self-interest, lies, from the spirit of division, from sin in all its forms? Dear students, this Gospel is yours; will you be its bearers along with your religious leaders, your teachers, with all committed Christians, so THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 15 that you may build on this earth the society of brotherhood for which the world justly yearns? This is our message: God is light (1 Jn 1:5), Jesus Christ is the “light of the world”; he who follows him will not walk in darkness (cf. Jn 8:12). May God bless you, may he enlighten your minds and enable you to discover truth; may he inflame your hearts for the practice of love. MANILA: TO THE BISHOPS ",. .let us make ... as our guide the teaching of the recent Ecumen ical Council..." After addressing the youth at the UST parade grounds His Holiness proceeded to the Medicine building where the various bishops of Asia were assembled in session for the Pan-Asian Bishops Con ference. Shortly before the end of his more than 3 hours stay there, he gave them this message. Venerable Brothers: Bishops of the Philippines, Bishops of AsiaGreetings to you all in Christ our Lord. Greetings to you, Cardinal Rufino Santos, Archbishop of this Church of Manila, host to this extraordinary assembly. To each of you, brothers, our greeting of faith and love. For your Churches, your cduntries, our good wishes full of respect, friendship and peace. Here we are together at last. This meeting makes us very happy. It is something new, but it corresponds to the profound nature of the Church. The Church has always been the same; it is the family of those who believe in Christ, “composed of every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). The scene at Pentecost comes to mind and from our hearts there arises and finds expression on our lips the invocation to the Holy Spirit; .Veni Sancti Spiritus. To savor this moment with vou, a moment that seems to us historic and full of mystery, we have 16 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS made the long journey from Rome to Manila. We have come to meet you, dear brothers, to know you better, to pay honor to this assembly of yours, to encourage your work, to sustain your resolves. You are the reason for our presence here today and at this moment the sub ject of our words. On this our visit to your vast continent, you are, moreover, the prime object of our love. Even more worthy of our immediate attention than the novelty and singularity of this meeting are, it seems to us, the theological meaning that it manifests and the mystery that it makes present: Christ is here. He is here through the reality, ever repeated: gathering in His name (Mt. 18:20). He is here through the faith that makes Him live in each one of us (Eph. 3:17). He is here also through the coming of our humble person, to whom, as a lowly successor of Peter, is applied in a very special way the title of Vicar of Christ- And Christ our Lord is here through the apostolic ministry entrusted to each of us (cf. Lumen Gentium 21), and through the collegial rela tionship that joins us together (Ibid. 22). We, the successors of the Apostles and the pastors of the Church of God, are invested with the power not only of representing Christ, but also of making present on earth and in time his voice (Lk 10:16) and his saving action (Mt 28:19). Christ is here. Let us take notice of this mysterious reality, with an act of faith both conscious and strong. It is true: we firmly believe that the Lord’s promise, “Behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt. 28:20), is fulfilled now, at this moment of history, in a singular and marvelous way. Christ is with us. How is this promise fulfilled at this moment? It is fulfilled in the countenance of the Church, herself the “Sign and sacrament” of Christ (cf. Lumen Gentium 1; De Lubac, Meditation sur I’Eglise, 157 ff.). This countenance seems here to reflect with brilliant clarity the characteristic marks of the Church: one, holy, catholic and apos tolic. This last mark, apostolicity, concerns us now in a particular way. Let us think about it for a moment. All of us meeting here are successors of the Apostles. We have received from Christ Himself the mandate, the power, His Spirit to THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 17 carry on and to spread His mission. We are the heirs of the Apostles; we are Christ working in history and the world; we are the ministers of his pastoral government of the Church; we are the institutional organ, entrusted with dispensing the mysteries of God (cf. 1 Cor 4:1; 2 Cor 6:4; Lumen Gentium 20)You know that the Council has clearly proclaimed this doctrine, which forms part of the divine and unchanging constitution of the Church. You know too that there have sprung up many discussions about this doctrine; not all of them are useful for confirming and ex pounding it, as thev should, but sometimes indeed more apt to confuse the doctrine and weaken it. This seems to us a suitable occasion for restating our firm support of the doctrine of the apostolic nature of the Church. We must realize that this doctrine establishes the per manence and the authenticity of the foundation of the Church by Christ; it marks the boundaries of ecclesial communion (cf. Lk 10:16, 11:23; Unitatis Redintegratio, 2); it qualifies our persons with a sacramental character for the ministrv that is entrusted to us; it makes us members of a single Apostolic College, under the leadership of Peter, establish ing between us bonds of unity, love, peace, solidarity and collaboration; it vindicates the importance and the fidelity of tradition. Besides this it demonstrates the present vitality and ever renewed youth of the Church; it explains its organic hierarchy and the vital capacity of the Mystical Bodv to function; it safeguards the existence and the exercise of the ministerial powers proper to the Christian priesthood, which shares in the single priesthood of Christ; it is the prime source, authorized and responsible, of missionary activity (cf. Journet, I’Eglise du Verbe Income II, 1208, 2). The fact that it derives its authority not from “below” but from Christ does not mean that it sets up a privileged caste, but rather it makes of the Episcopate an organ for the benefit and service of all the individual churches, and of the entire Catholic Church, one which works from love, to the very point of sacrifice (cf. Christus Dominus, 6). We remind you of all this, brothers, that your confidence may be great in Christ’s assistance for you and your labors, for your sufrings and your hopes. You must be aware of your vocation, the fact of your having been chosen and of your responsibility. You 18 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS must ever hear re-echoing in the depths of your souk the words of Saint Paul: “Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). Be strong, be patient. You have before you an immense field for your apostolate; its very geographical vastness and the enormous multitudes that inhabit it would suffice to fire your apostolic zeal. Here we should cast our glance over that human panorama in which your ministry must be exercised, although we know that you have already had experience in theory and in practice. You have before you an immense field for your apostolate- It is difficult to speak of Asia as a whole since more than half of man kind lives here. One can however point to a certain network of common interests, a certain identity in the way of looking at life and a certain harmony of aspirations. Young in its peoples but rich in civilizations often thousands of years old, Asia is impelled as by an irresistible desire to occupy her rightful place in the world, and her influence is effectively increasing. The attraction to change and the desire for progress are present everywhere, and we see in them a fresh chance for the man of today. It is certainly true that — except for certain regions such as the Philippines — the Church, in spite of a history which is already long, is represented in Asia only by small minorities. Yet who can say how much heroic devotion, as well as faith in the men of Asia, has guided from the first beginnings the destiny of the missions of this continent? Who could ever fully describe the journeyings — often, even up to our own times, painful and tragic — of a missionary apostolate upheld by only one support, that coming from on high! Therefore our hope is great, based as it is upon the command of the Lord to go to all nations, and upon his promises conveyed in the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven in the dough (Lk 13:18-20). We shall limit ourself to indicating a few points which seem to us to be of capital importance for your present mission. Nothing of what we say is new to you; but we hope that you will take comfort in hearing your thoughts and intentions confirmed by our words. THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 19 The first thing that we would propose to you is this: let us make effort to take as our guide the teaching of the recent Ecumenical Council. This teaching sums up and ratifies the heritage of Catholic traditions and opens the way for a renewal of the Church according to the needs and possibilities of modern times. This adherence to the teachings of the Council can establish a wonderful harmony throughout the Church, and this harmony can enhance the effectiveness of our pastoral activity and preserve us from the errors and weaknesses of the present time. This is especially true in one particular field, the field of faith. It seems to us that the defence and the spreading of the faith must take first place in our spiritual expression, and that it must be the prime object of our pastoral care. We bishops are the teachers of the faith. We are the preachers, the promoters of instruc tion in the faith. This is our main task and commitment. From this duty flows everything that we do to encourage study of the faith, catechesis, knowledge and meditation of the Word of God, Catholic teaching and Catholic schools, our press, the use of social communica tions and ecumenical dialogue- We cannot keep silent. We must not lose the truth and unity of the faith. We must strive to make the faith the fundamental driving principle of the Christian life of our communities. To this plea for the affirmation and the orthodoxy of the faith pennit us to add a plea for prayer. In our day we are witnessing the decline of prayer, and you know the causes of this. Yet in favour of prayer we have two great — though different — resources: the first is the liturgical refcnn promoted by the recent Council. The Council has not only renewed the outward form of ritual, always according to certain traditional norms, but it has also given fresh life to the sour ces — doctrinal, sacramental, communal and pastoral — of the Church’s prayer. We must take advantage of this providential teaching, if we wish prayer always to be the living and sincere expression of the faithful and always to retain in the Church a place of honor among religious values. The second resource of prayer is the natural inclination of the Asiatic spirit. We must honor and cultivate this deep and innate religious sense, which is the hallmark of the soul of the Eastern world. We must defend the spirituality proper to these peoples and ensure 20 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS that their contact with materialistic modern secular civilization does not suffocate the inner aspirations of this spirituality. We are certain that the Church possesses the secret of true conversation with God; and you have the duty of opening the hearts of your people to the mys terious and true Word of God and to the intense filial expression of religious dialogue to which Christ authorized us and which the Spirit gives us the power to direct to the heavenly Father. In this regard there arises another fundamental point, which con cerns not only the language of prayer and religious instruction but the genius and style of evangelization which, as the Council says, must “be adapted to the particular way of thinking and acting” of the peoples to which it is directed (cf. Ad Genies, 16-18, etc.). If, in the past, an insufficient knowledge of the hidden riches of the various civilizations hindered the spread of the Gospel message and gave the Church a certain foreign aspect, it is for you to show that the salvation brought by * Jesus Christ is offered to all, without distinc tion of condition, without any privileged link with one race, continent or civilization. Far from wishing to stifle “the seeds of good in men’s hearts and minds or in their own rites and culture”, the Gospel heals, raises and perfects them for the glory of God (cf. Lumen Gentium, 17; Ad Genies, 22). Just as Jesus Christ shared the condition of these who were His own, so the man of Asia can be a Catholic and remain fully Asian- As we declared a year ago in Africa, if the Church must above all be Catholic, a pluralism is legitimate and even desirable in the manner of professing one common faith in the one same Jesus Christ. And this, brothers, is also the foundation of your particular res ponsibility as you continue to proclaim Jesus Christ to the men of Asia. None better than an Asian can speak to an Asian. None bet ter that he should know how to draw from the treasures of your rich cultures the elements for the building up in Asia of a Church which will be one and Catholic, founded upon the Apostles and yet different in its life styles. Should we not note, to the praise of your peoples and for the strengthening of your pastoral activity, the natural dis THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 21 position of the peoples of the East for his religious mystery, which seems a prophetic sign of their call to Christian revelation? Your individual churches would certainly lack an essential aspect of maturity if missionary vocations did not develop within them. It is for the bishops of Asia, for their priests, their religious brothers and sisters and their lay people engaged in the apostolate to be the first apostles of their Asian brothers, with the cooperation of missionaries from abroad, whose merits are so great, and whose efforts — God grant — wilt continue and grow, in the name of the unchangeable solidarity that is the duty of the whole Church in this sphere. One of the aspects of the present adaptation of missionary activity, which we stressed in our last Message for Mission Sunday, is the importance it accords to the action of development. Is not the Gospel, which is the good news preached to the poor (Lk 4:18), the source of development? The Church, conscious of human aspirations towards dignity and well-being, pained by the unjust inequalities which still exist and often become more acute between nations and within nations, while respecting the competence of States, must offer her assistance for prompting “a fuller humanism”, that is to say “the full develop ment of the whole man and of every man” (Populorum Progressio, 42). It is a logical consequence of our Christian faith. The hierarchy of the Philippines recalled it quite recently: “Christianity and democ racy have one basic principle in common: the respect for the dignity and value of the human person, the respect of those means which man requires to make himself fully human” (9 July, 1970). It is in the name of this principle that the Church must support as best she can the struggle against ignorance, hunger, disease and social insecu rity. Taking her place in the vanguard of social action, she must bend all her efforts to support, encourage and push forward initiative work ing for the full promotion of man. Since she is the witness of human conscience and of divine love for men, she must take up the defense of the poor and the weak against every form of social injustice. We know that much has been done by you in this regard, on the level both of study and action. We are convinced that in this way MISSING PAGE/PAGES 24 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS day you feel that you are weak secular man, if ever some day you are tempted to abandon the sacred commitment of your priesthood, remem ber that you are “through him, with him, and in him;” each one of you is “another Christ.” The second order of relationships linking you from now on to the Church is that with your bishop or superior, with the People of God, with persons, and also with the world. The priest is no longer for him self; he is for the ministry of Christ’s Mystical Body. He is a servant, an instrument of the Word and grace- The proclamation of the Gospel, the celebration of the Eucharist, the remission of sins, the exercise of pastoral activity, the life of faith and worship and the radiation of charity and holiness are his duty, a duty that reaches the point of self-sacrifice, of the cross, as for Jesus. It is a very heavy burden. But Jesus bears it with his chosen one and makes him feel the truth of his words: “my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Mt 11:30). For, as Saint Augus tine teaches us, “my weight is love” (Confession 13:9). When love of Christ becomes the single supreme principle of the life of a priest, it makes all easy, all possible, all happy. Wc would like the awareness of being thus destined as a pastor to serve your neighbor never to be extinguished within you; we would like it to make you always sensitive to the ills, the needs and the sufferings which surround the life of a priest. All classes of people seem to stretch out their hands to him and ask for his understanding, his com passion and his assistance; children, young people, the poor, the sick those who hunger for bread and for justice, the unfortunate, the sinners — all have need of the help of the priest. Never say that your lives are irrelevant and useless. “Who is weak,” says Saint Paul, “and I am not weak?” (2 Cor 11:29). If you have this sensitivity to the physical, moral and social deficiencies of mankind, you will also find in your selves another sensitivity, that to the potential good which is always to be found in every human being; for a priest, every life is worthy of love. This two fold sensitivity, to evil and to good in man, is the beating of Christ’s heart in that of the faithful priest. It is net without semething of the miraculous, a miracle that is psychological, moral and, if you like, mystical, while at the same time being very much a social one. It is a miracle of charity in the heart of a priest. THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 25 You will experience it. That is our wish for you on the day of your ordination to the priesthood. And with our wish goes our Apos tolic Blessing(2) And you, dear children making your first Communion today, what shall we say to you? The most beautiful thing to say is this: stay always, for all your lives, as you are today: good, religious, innocent, and friends of Jesus who is now coming into your hearts. Maybe you know that Jesus had a very special love fcr children, and that he said to everyone: “Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3), that is to say, unless you are like children you will never be real Christians and go to heaven. We must always be like little children. But what can we do? We grow up, and life changes. But let one thing never change for you, dear children: always re member this day, and promise Jesus that you will always be his friends, with humility, simplicity and trust. His friends, even when you are grown up; always friends of Jesus. Will you promise that? Will you see that Jesus will accept your promise, and will always be your friend, for ever. We will pray to him together that it may be so. With our affect ionate blessing. A GREETING FOR THE DELEGATION FROM CEBU ’ The message we give you... is the very one Jesus Christ gave to his apostles... 'Love one another'..." On the afternoon of November 28, 1970, Pope Paul VI met a dele gation from Cebu headed by Julio Cardinal Rosales. He greeted them with the following message. In spite of our great desire, it was not possible for us to accept the pressing invitation which your Cardinal extended to us in your 26 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS name. We do have, however, the pleasure of meeting here a delega tion from your island, and it is with particular affection that we greet you. We thank Cardinal Rosales and all who made it possible for you to come here to Manila. Tell your fellow-citizens that the Pope loves them, that he gives his blessing to the clergy, the religious, the laity — to all the families and to all the people of the island. The message we give you for them is the very one Jesus Christ gave to his apostles before He left them: “Love one another.” That is the sign by which to tell the true disciples of the one who came to save all men of every race and and language and country (cf. Jn 13:34-35). With deep sentiments of fatherly affection in our heart we bestow on you our Apostolic Blessing. GREETING TO THE VIETNAMESE "We urge... honest and sincere negotiation After taking part in a three-hour session of the Pan-Asian Bishops Conference, the Holy Father met a delegation of about 150 South Vietnamese at the Nunciature where he delivered this message — November 28, 1970. Venerable brothers, Dear sons and daughters, and dear friends from Vietnam, At the Vatican we have often welcomed groups of your fellow coun trymen. Today we have opportunity of coming personally to the Far East and of meeting numerous distinguished representatives of Vietnam. We welcome you with joy, and we particularly desire to assure you of our fatherly affection for yourselves and for your beloved homeland, which we would like to consider as present here before us at this mo ment in its entirety. THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 27 It is many years now since your country has known the benefits of peace. Rest assured that we share the sorrows, as also the hopes and aspirations of the Vietnamese. Like everyone else, they want to live in peace, concord and tranquillity, and peace is the necessary con dition for that normal social and economic development to which all the people of the world have a right. Unfortunately, it must be said that for all too long they have been deprived of these benefits. Let us tell you first of all how we admire the patience, perseverance and fortitude of the Vietnamese. Without letting themselves be cast down on the one hand by the acts of war, which alas still continue in these recent days, nor on the other hand allowing themselves to be discour aged by the acts of terrorism which this interminable war brings in its wake, they are rebuilding, binding up their wounds and preparing a bright tomorrow for their sons and daughters. Let them continue to keep their eyes fixed on the happy future that must be ensured for Vietnam. Let them ever keep in sight the common good of their country. Today their homeland is in the midst of trials, but tomorrow, thanks to the united and energetic efforts of all concerned, it will, we are sure, know better days. Let them have above all else this concern for the common good. Those who give really useful service to their country are the ones who make their contribution of moral integrity, of a sense of responsibility and of solid cultural and professional preparation. And at this moment especially, perhaps the most necessary contribution is that which is made in the social fields, in all that can and ought to be done on behalf of those most in need. Those who courageously put aside all individual ism which might harm the good of the community in this field are thereby working effectively for the coming of that peace which is desired. Today’s meeting offers us the opportunity to renew our pressing appeal to all those in positions of responsibility. May they strive above all to avoid any action that could be harmful to the climate of under standing so necessary for the success of the current talks. May the spectacle of so much suffering and the tears of so many innocent vic tims constantly stimulate them to overcome difficulties and obstacles and to work for the coming of peace. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS By working for peace in Vietnam, they are by that very fact work ing for world peace and for the well-being of all mankind, whose only hope lies in peace and brotherhood. May God bless these efforts, dear sons and daughters and friends, and may he bless you and your families. We beg this of him with all our heart as we impart to you all our apostolic blessing. GREETING TO THE DELEGATION FROM FORMOSA "..we express ...our good wishes that your country may know concord and prosperity..." This message prepared for a delegation from Formosa io be led by Cardinal Yu Pin scheduled likewise for the afternoon of Novem ber 28, 1970 was not delivered since the planned audience never took place. Dear friends, dear sons Sfid daughters, As we come to greet your delegation, we cannot conceal our ad miration for the spontaneous gesture which has brought you from so far away to meet the humble leader of the Catholic Church. You have wished that your group should faithfully reflect the population of Formosa, since representatives of its great religious bodies are in cluded in your delegation. We greet you with great joy and we express to you our good wishes that your country may know concord and prosperity, under the protection of Almighty God. We have come to Eastern Asia as the bearer of an essentially spiritual message; our de sire is that God may better be known and better loved, for in this lies the source of the happiness of mankind. To our Catholic sons and daughters, grouped about our dear brother Cardinal Yu Pin and our brothers, the bishops of your dio ceses, we wish to offer our encouragement to lead a life worthy of the vocation to which they have been called (cf. Eph 4:1), in all things bearing witness to their faith, their hope and their love. With all our heart we bestow our Apostolic blessing on you and on all those whom you represent. THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 29 ADDRESS TO PAPAL REPRESENTATIVES "...the role of Nuncios is also developing" On returning to the Nunciature after the Ordination ceremonies at the Rizal Park on the 28th of November, the Pope met the various Nuncios and Papal representatives and gave this address. We wish to express our happiness at being for a few brief moments among you, our very close and faithful collaborators. We offer you our lively thanks for the care with which you have cooperated in the success of this meeting of the Episcopal Conferences of Asia. We would make a special and very warm mention of the Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines, whose competence and devotion, aided by dynamic cooperation, have made it possible for us to accomplish this first stage of our journey to the Far EastAs you are well aware, our first desire on the occasion of these visits is to establish fraternal contact with the bishops, to encourage them in the concerted planning of their pastoral work — with due res pect for the principle of subsidiarity and for the link of episcopal collegiality — to put progressively into practice the great guidelines of the Council. The role of Nuncios is also evolving. Until now, the Nuncio was little more than the Pope’s representative to Governments and Churches. His activity with regard to the Churches was above all of a hierarchical and administrative nature; in a certain sense he remained a stranger to the local Church. Today, the Nuncio must place a more pronounced pastoral accent on his work. He too is at the service of the Kingdom of God as it goes forward in the land. If then we come to take part in the deliberations of the great regional episcopal assemblies, as last year in Kampala, here now in Manila, and as we shall do on our journey to Sydney, our purpose is to underline our communion and our solidarity with the pastoral cares 30 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS of each region of the world. Collegiality means love and shared res ponsibility, as we said at the opening of the final session of last year’s meeting of the Synod of Bishops. You, the Representatives of the Pope, must be for the local hierarchies the living sign of this com munion and this solidarity, sharing as far as you can their pastoral preoccupations. Coming from the heart of Christianity, you are the witnesses of the catholicity, that is, the universality of the Christian message. Sharing as you do in the special charism of Peter, you represent in a privileged way the demands of unity in the desired diversity of expressions of the same faith. By reason of your close attachment to the See of the head of the apostolic college, you cons titute to some extent a link between the individual churches of the entire world. This cannot be conceived without a more fraternal approach to the life of the local churches. It is your task to find, for each in dividual case, the practical modes of that approach, in a spirit of service and with the consciousness of being above all the bonds of love. As we offer you our cordial encouragement and the assurance of our profound confidence in your exacting apostolate, we bestow on you and your collaborators our paternal Apostolic Blessing. TO THE YOUTH — TO THE WORKERS — TO THE POOR — TO THE PEOPLE "We need Christ, to be genuine and worthy men in the temporal order" The Pope's last day in the Philippines commenced with an openair Mass celebrated at the Quezon Circle in Quezon City at 8:00 a.m. In the presence of a vast concurse of people led by the President of the Philippines and his family, the Holy Father gave this address. I, Paul, the successor of Saint Peter, charged with the pastoral mission for the whole Church, would never have come from Rome to THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 31 this far-distant land, unless I had been most firmly convinced of two fundamental things: first, of Christ; and second, of your salvation. Convinced of Christ: yes, I feel the need to proclaim him, I can not keep silent- “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). I am sent by him, by Christ himself, to do this. I am an apostle, I am a witness. The more distant the goal, the more dif ficult my mission, the more pressing is the love that urges me to it (cf. 2 Cor 5:14). I must bear witness to his name: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mt 16:16). He reveals the in visible God, he is the firstborn of all creation, the foundation of everything created. He is the Teacher of mankind, and its Redeemer. He was born, he died and he rose again for us. He is the centre of history and of the world; he is the one who knows us and who loves us; he is the companion and the friend of our life. He is the man of sorrows and of hope. It is he who will come and who one day will be our judge and — we hope — the everlasting fulness of our existence, our happiness. I could never finish speaking about him: he is the light and the truth; indeed, he is “the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). He is the bread and the spring of living water to satisfy our hunger and our thirst. He is our shepherd, our guide, our model, our comfort, our brother. Like us, and more than us, he has been little, poor, humiliated; he has been a worker; he has known misfortune and been patient. For our sake he spoke, worked miracles and founded a new kingdom where the poor are happy, where peace is the principle for living together, where the pure of heart and those who mourn are raised up and comforted, where those who hunger and thirst after justice have their fill, where sinners can be forgiven, where all are brothersJesus Christ: you have heard him spoken of; indeed the greater part of you are already his: you are Christians. So, to you Christians I repeat his name, to everyone I proclaim him: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega; he is the king of the new world; he is the secret of history; he is the key to our des tiny. He is the mediator, the bridge, between heaven and earth. He 32 BOLETIN ECLESiASTICO DE FILIPINAS is more perfectly than anyone else the Son of Man, because he is the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary, blessed among all women, his mother according to the flesh, and our mother through the sharing in the Spirit of his Mystical Body. Jesus Christ is our constant preaching; it is his name that we proclaim to the ends of the earth (cf. Rom 10:18) and throughout all ages (Rom 9:5). Remember this and ponder on it: the Pope has come here among you and has proclaimed Jesus Christ! In doing this I express also the second dynamic idea that brings me to you: that Jesus Christ is to be praised not only for what he is in himself; he is to be exalted and loved for what he is for us, for each one of us, for every people and for every culture. Christ is our Savior. Christ is our greatest benefactor. Christ is our liberator. We need Christ, in order to be genuine and worthy men in the temporal order, and men saved and raised to the supernatural order. At this point several questions present themselves. They are ques tions that torment our times, and I am sure that they are in your minds too. These questions are: Can Christ really be of any use to us for solving the practical and concrete problems of the present life? Did he not say that his kingdom is not of this world? What can he do for us? In other words, can Christianity give rise to a true humanism? Can the Christian view of life inspire a real renewal of society? Can that view harmonize with the demands of modern life, and favor prog ress and well-being for all? Can Christianity interpret people’s yearn ings and identify with the tendencies special to your culture? These questions are many, and we cannot answer them with one single formula which would take account of the complexity of the prob lems and the different needs of man, spiritual, moral, economic, political, ethnic, historical and social. Yet, as far as the positive and happy development of your social conditions is concerned, we can give a positive answer: Christianity can be salvation also on the earthly and human level. Christ multiplied the loaves also to satisfy the phy THE POP? SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 33 sical hunger of the crowds following him- And Christ continues to work this miracle for those who truly believe in him, and who take from him the principles of a dynamic social order, that is, of an order that is continually progressing and being renewed. For example, Christ, as you know, constantly proclaims his great and supreme commandment of love. There exists no social ferment stronger and better than this. In its positive aspect it unleashes in comparable and unquenchable moral forces; in its negative aspect it denounces all forms of selfishness, inertia and forgetfulness which do harm to the needs of others. Christ proclaims the equality and brother hood of all men: who but he has taught and can still effectively teach such principles which revolution, while benefitting from them, rejects? Who but he, we say, has revealed the fatherhood of God, the true and unassailable reason for the brotherhood of men? And whence comes the genuine and sacred freedom of man if not from human dignity, of which Christ made himself the teacher and champion? And who, if not he, has made available temporal goods, when he took from them the nature of ends in themselves and declared that they are means, means which must to some extent suffice for all, and means which are of less value than the supreme goods of the spirit? Who but Christ has planted in the hearts of his followers the talent for love and service on behalf of all man’s suffering and needs? Who has proclaimed the law of work as a right, a duty and a means of providence? Who has proclaimed the dignity that raises it to the level of cooperation with and fulfillment of the divine plan? Who has freed it from every form of inhuman slavery, and given it its reward of justice and merit? To you who are students and can well grasp these fundamental ideas and these higher values, I would say this: Today while you are challenging the structures of affluent society, the society that is do minated by technology and by the anxious pursuit of productivity and consumption, you are aware of the insufficiency and the deceptiveness of the economic and social materialism that marks our present progress. You are truly able to reaffirm the superiority, richness and relevance 34 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS of authentic Christian sociology, based on true knowledge of man and of his destiny. Workers, my message to you is this: While today you have be come aware of your rights and your strength, take care that in the pursuit of your total rehabilitation you do not adopt formulas that are incomplete and inaccurate. These, while offering you partial victories of an economic and hedonistic nature, under the banner of a selfish and bitter struggle, may later increase the disappointment of having been deprived of the higher values of the spirit, of having been deprived of your religious personality and of your hope in the life that will not end. Let your aspirations be inspired by the vigor and wisdom that only the Gospel of the divine Worker can give you. To you, the poor I have this to say: remember that you have a supreme friend — Christ who called you blessed, the privileged inheri tors of his kingdom. He personified himself in you, so as to turn to you every good person, every generous heart, every man who wishes to save himself bv seeking in you Christ the Savior. Yes, strive to raise yourselves: you have a right and duty to do so. Demand the help of a society that wishes to be called civilized but do not curse either your lot or those who lack sensitivity, for you know that you are rich in the values of Christian patience and redemptive suffering. A final wcrd, to you who are rich: remember how severe Christ was in your regard, when he saw you self-satisfied, inactive and selfish. And on the other hand remember how responsive and grateful he was when he found you thoughtful and generous; he said that not even a cup of cold water given in a Christian spirit would go unrewarded. Perhaps it is your hour: the time for you to open your eyes and hearts to a great new vision not dedicated to the struggles of self-interest, hatred and violence, but dedicated to solicitous and generous love and to true progress. All this, dear sons and daughters, dear brothers and sisters, is part of the message of the Catholic faith- I have the happy duty to proclaim it here, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 35 MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLES OF ASIA "Asia must not succumb to godlessness'' After the Mass at the Quezon Circle, the Holy Father proceeded to the auditorium of "Radio Veritas", the Catholic Broadcasting Station of Manila. He presided at the last session' of the Asian Bishops Conference. It was on this occasion that he addressed the inhabitants of all Asia. To you the countless millions of men and women, our brothers and sisters who live in Asia, this crossroads of cultures ancient and modem, and in a special manner to those among you who are our own children in Christ — the blessing of God, abiding peace and fraternity. We are happy to address these words to you on the occasion of the inauguration of Radio Veritas, to which we desire to offer our en couragement for an ever more enlightened, generous and fruitful acti vity. We also express our appreciation to all those who have made possible the realization of this important work. It is our fervent wish that through it there may reach you the echo of the teachings of Christ, to raise your hearts to the God of love and truth. We hope that it will knit among you, its listeners, bonds of evangelical love, so that, made conscious of “the joys and hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor” (Gaudium et Spes, 1), you may together undertake the construction of a more just and more united society. Brethren, this is the first time the head of the Catholic Church has come to this part of your continent, and providence has decreed that it should be in our humble person. We are grateful, for we re gard Asia with love and reverence for the venerable antiquity and rich ness of its millennial culture. This immense land is the source of great civilizations, the birthplace cf world religions, the treasure-house of an cient wisdom. We are now in a region where the cultural currents of the East and the more recent ones from the West have merged in mutual enrichment. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINA,S As we address cur words to you, we cannot omit mention of a consideration which is as obvious as it is worthy of being kept cons tantly in mind. Your continent, stretching from the limits of ancient Europe and Africa to the Pacific and covering very nearly a third of the lands given to man for his home, is inhabited by more than a half of all mankind- This fact alone gives seme idea of the magnitude of the problems that face your people. At the same time it shows the im portance — we might say the weight — that Asia has for the present, and, even more so, for the future of the entire world. This double aspect we regard with great interest, and with respect for these whose task it is to ensure with farsighted wisdom, that development takes place with the necessary speed and care, not with clamorous and dangerous disorder, but in a beneficial and rational way. Our interest also goes hand in hand with our good wishes and with our willingness to contri bute all that we can to this end. Our interest is mingled too with great hope. No one more than ourself sincerely wishes to see you take your rightful place in the world and receive your legitimate share in the means and opportunities of. economic and social welfare. No one more than ourself is aware of and deplores the situations of incomplete develop ment or the unequal distribution that still exist among you, in the rela tions of one nation with another or among citizens of one and the same nation. No one mere than ourself — because of justice and out of affection for your peoples, without distinction or preference except for the weakest and the most needy, through the very interest we have in peaceful co-existence and in good and fruitful cooperation within your countries, throughout your vast regions and also outside and be yond them — expresses the fervent wish that such situations may be eliminated at the earliest possible moment and as completely as possible, in conformity with the natural rights of individuals, of the various social groups and of all peoples. We are aware that the difficulties are many, also in the technical sphere. These difficulties cannot be bypassed without world wide co operation and mutual and disinterested assistance. Happily the con THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 87 sciousness of this necessity is gaining among the nations of the world. We exhort you to act generously in this great movement. We exhort also those outside continent of Asia who have the ability and the duty to do so, to offer ever more generous cooperation for the integral deve lopment of all. In like manner we feel the pressing duty to exhort all those in positions of responsibility to deal decisively with injustices in situations and in relations among various social groups, wherever such injustices are found. We exhort them further to give an ever stronger impulse, with open minds and hearts and with a firm hand, to the human better ment of all citizens, giving particular attention to the needs and rights of the most impoverished and abandoned among those citizens: from the workers who aspire to just wages to those who work on the land, where there is often a crying need for wise agrarian reform. As we utter these exhortations we are sustained by a great hope- This hope, we would like you to know, is based not only on the help of Gcd and on the responsible commitment of all of you — from the most humble to the most exalted in your respective functions —but also on an awereness of the virtues and natural qualities which, in spite of the countless differences between one people and another, are common to all your peoples and of which certain ones constitute for those peoples a characteristic mark. In fact, contemplating the past history of your nations, brethren, we are impressed most of all by the sense of spiritual values dominating the thoughts of your sages and the lives of your vast multitudes. The discipline of your ascetics, the deep religious spirit of your peoples, your filial piety and attachment to the family, your veneration of ancestors — all of these point to the primacy of the spirit; all reveal your inter minable quest for God, your hunger for the supernatural. These characteristics are not of value for your spiritual life alone. Taken together, they not only do not constitute an obstacle to the attainment of that technical, economic and social progress to which your numberless peoples rightly aspire; but indeed, they offer a foun dation of incalculable value to favour full progress in such a way so 38 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS as not to sacrifice those deepest and most precious values which consti tute man as the being that is directed by the influence of the spiritual — the master, at least potentially, of the cosmos and of its forces, and likewise the subduer of himself. Science and technology are proof of the conquest of the material order by the spirit of man. And yet it is under the shadow of these achievements that materialism has taken shelter. Wherever technology is introduced on a large scale, there materialism also tries to insinuate itself. With your traditional spiritual outlook, however, your sense of discipline and morality, and the integrity of your family life, you must be able to counter materialism and even help Western civilization to overcome the dangers that its very progress brings in its wakeBut Materialism with all its negative consequences is only the outward symptom of a deeper malaise now afflicting large sections of the human family: a weakening of faith in God, or even the total loss of it. And when atheism turns militant and aggressive, as it has done, it becomes immensely mote dangerous to individuals and nations. All the God-fearing peoples of your continent. Asia where great world religions were bom must not succumb to godlessness. We pray, and invite you all to pray with us, that God’s light and love may preserve your peoples from such a danger. Here it is our duty to say a word about the presence and ac tion of the Catholic Church in your midst. We do so all the more willingly from this land of the Philippines, in which the Catholic Church has for centuries been fully at home. The Church feels at home not only here but in all your nations. What she has to bring to you also, that is the message of Christ, is not imposed upon its hearers but rather proclaimed in open and friendly words. It is offered for your instruc tion and meditation, and it is not such as in any way to cancel out or lessen the cultural and spiritual values that constitute your priceless heritage. Christ is light and truth and life. And we proclaim him to you as he appears to our unshakeable faith. We are obedient to his charge, his command: Go, preach to all nations the good, the happy news, THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 39 instructing them in my teaching of love and life. This we do, brothers and sisters, with humble love for you, with deep respect for yourselves and for your ancient and venerable traditions. In fact, the Church, by virtue of her essential catholicity, cannot be alien to any country or people; she is bound to make herself native to every clime, cultural and race. Wherever she is, she must strike her roots deep into the spiritual and cultural ground of the place and assimilate all that is of genuine value. Our predecessors, the Second Vatican Council, and we ourself, have not only encouraged this move ment but also furnished the necessary guidelines for it. Thus, while preserving the cultural excellence and individuality of each nation, the Catholic Church will be able to communicate what is of universal value in each of them to all the others, for their mutual enrichment. Christ and his message certainly have a divine charm which the deeply religious East can appreciate. Your faith and love, overflowing into your daily life and activity, can make this message, and Christ himself, visible and acceptable to your countrymen as no preaching can do. This mission of bringing Christ and his Church close to the men and women of Asia belongs not only to the hierarchy, the priests and the religious brothers and sisters, but to each one of you, our dear Catholic sons and daughters of the different nations which we are now addressing. Together you make the People of God. Together you must show forth Christ to others. In imitation of Jesus Christ who went about doing good (cf. Acts 10:39), Christians arc the best friends of their fellowmen. Their faith must impel them to work for the sanctification of the world (cf. Lumen Gentium, 31) and to take the lead in that indispensable movement of brotherly solidarity. It is this which must satisfy all men in their hunger for bread, employment, shelter and edu cation; This movement must bring a response to men’s yearnings for responsibility, freedom, justice, the moral virtues, and in a word, a “com plete humanism” (Populorum Progressio, 42). 40 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS We cannot bring our words to a close without directing a heartfelt and particularly affectionate greeting to those peoples of your continent who are still oppressed by the tragedy of war. Our heart is heavy at the thought of the thousands of victims of the conflicts now taking place, at the thought of the orphans and widows abandoned, of the homes and villages destroyed, at the thought of the hate which is spread abroad and which often explodes, even today, in acts of war and terrorism, affecting also many innocent and defenceless people. We have not ceased — nor shall we cease — in urgent appeals, both in public and in our meetings with leaders, that unflagging search be carried out, with wise and persistent goodwill, for the means to sus pend hostilities and to reach at last a just and honorable peace, which will ensure for all the peoples involved freedom from disturbance, liberty and the chance for a serene and fitting existence. This appeal, this fervent plea, we wish solemnly to renew here and now. And to all those who are suffering, to all those who are seeking to alleviate their sufferings and to all those who are working for peace we send our most sincere good wishes. At the same time we renew from our heart the expression of our profound sharing in the bitter grief that in these recent weeks has struck a great and dear land, Pakistan, which has been the victim of a natural disaster the like of which probably does not exist in human memory. Upon everyone, finally, upon all the peoples of Asia, upon their heads of state and rulers, whom we greet with respect, we invoke from on high wisdom and the will and sufficient strength to ensure the happy and rapid development of their respective nations throughout this entire continent. To the heads of the religions of Asia and to their faithful we express our esteem for the religious sense which they foster with such great concern for the well-being of their brothers. To our dear Catholic sons and daughters, whom we once more recall with paternal affection, we extend our good wishes and impart our Blessing. THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 41 INAUGURATION OF NEW HOUSING PROJECT "...the housing problem that affects thousands" Later on November 29, Pope Pbul VI went to the village of St. Joseph in Pasig, where he blessed the new housing project. During this visit he gave this message praising those responsible lor the valuable undertaking. On the occasion of our passing through Manila we are greatly gratified to bless these new housesOur ministry is that of the Gospel. The aim of our journey to Asia is therefore of the spiritual order: it is to proclaim the infinite riches of Christ, the hope that comes to us from his resurrection and which cannot be confounded (cf. Eph 3). Our mission is to see to it that by his grace this seed of the Word should grow and multiply in hearts, that this hope should begin now to be realized in the lives of men of today in the course of their pilgrimage on earth. We too must share with all, especially with those who are poor or in any way afflicted, their joys and hopes, their griefs and anxieties (Gaudium el Spcs, preface). This is the meaning of our presence hereWe know the serious housing problem which affects so many thousands of families in your capital, as happens in the greater part of the large cities throughout the world. The growth of population and the flight from the land towards metropolitan centers complicate extremely the activity of those in charge. Besides, it seems to us not to be enough to expect everything from the competence of the public authorities: it is a social problem of so broad a scope and of such deep seriousness that every conscience should be touched by it. Lack of housing or the absence of the minimum conditions to make it livable is one of the chief causes of the degradation of the family life and of the evil temptation to violence. It is a worldwide problem, and a particularly crucial one in develop ing countries. If it is to be resolved, it calls for the readiness of all 42 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS to give proof of imagination, social solidarity and generosity. This is why we extend our warm felicitations to the individuals and organiza tions who have made the execution of this project possible; we publicly express the wish that their example may be followed for the greater well-being of all. We pray Almighty God to bless them and their families, to bless the families about to occupy these dwellings and to comfort those who are waiting to have the joy of living in such conditions. GREETINGS TO THE LAY GROUP "The apostle must seek a charity ever more real, more universal" Late in the morning of the 29th of November, the Holy Father went to the residence of Cardinal Santos where he met representa tives of the Catholic Laity in the Philippines to whom he directed this message. In order to have a special meeting with you it was our wish to devote for you a few moments, in spite of quite a heavy program. Because of your diverse activities in the apostolate, you are the object of the Church’s particular consideration. Animated by the grace of baptism, of confirmation and, for some of you, of marriage, you have responded to the call of God who asks each Christian to be “at the same time a witness and a living instrument of the mission of the Church itself” (Lumen Gentium, 33). May God be thanked for this great grace, that your hearts are encouraged to persevere in your commitment to burn with the spirit of Christ and to exercise your apostolate in the world as a kind of leaven (cf- Apostoficdm Actuositatem, 2). The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Lay Apostolate, which you all know and which today forms in a sense the charter of the whole lay apostolate, insists on the spirit with which that apostolTHE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES ate must be lived. “The apostolate is carried on through the faith, hope and charity which the Holy Spirit diffuses in the hearts of all members of the Church” (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 3). Life of Faith The temptation would be to place our faith merely in the carrying out of certain religious acts. We know how fond the Christians of the Philippines are of external demonstrations of their faith — and rightly so. You are not unaware that you must go further: your faith must be enlightened by study of the Sacred Scriptures, of the Church’s teaching, and in particular of the decisions of the recent Council. To be a witness capable of drawing men to God, your faith must find ex pression in your life. Because they are Christians, lay people engaged in the apostolate must be the best citizens, the most honest ones and those most concerned for the common good. “Neither family concerns nor secular affairs should be excluded from their religious program of life” (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 4). Life of Hope Asia, the most populous continent of our globe — Asia is on the move. Millions and millions of men aspire today to better conditions of life and to the satisfaction of their profound religious restlessness, which is a thirsting for God. The immense obstacles that slow down or impede their advance towards this integral development carry the risk of causing feelings of despair. “The laity must take on the renewal of the temporal order as their own special obligation,” declares the Council. “As citizens they must cooperate with other citizens, using their own particular skills and acting on their own responsibilityEverywhere and in all things they must seek the justice characteristic of God’s kingdom” (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 7). How could they reach that goal, if they were not impelled by hope, by the assurance which is founded on God’s strength and help. Delays, difficulties or failures do not unsettle or overcome a person who is animated by this God-given certitude. 44 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Life of Charity Jesus Christ teaches us that love of God cannot be separated from love of one’s neighbor. The apostle must seek a charity that is ever more real, ever more universal. His love for his brothers, especially the weakest and the poorest, will have its root in the love which God has for all, particularly for the least of those who are his (cf. Mt 25:40). Love for God is not something for oneself alone; it must be shared. The committed layman will be urged on by charity to study the concrete situations of his brothers; he will display imagina tion in the application of solutions to problems and he will show concern for the unfolding of the real values of his people’s culture, whether the values be artistic, intellectual or religious. Having as similated the Church’s teaching, he will be faithful to the aim of every authentic social apostolate: a humanism open to the values of the spirit and to God, who is their source (cf. Populorum Progressio, 42). He will keep before his rjjind “that the new command of love is the basic law of human perfection and hence of the world’s transforma tion” (Gaudium et Spes, 38). You live in a relationship of trust with the hierarchy. Adding your collaboration to their apostolate, in docility and dialogue, you make use of your special experience and your res ponsibility, and you are aware of having a vocation to sanctify the world in the very exercise of the duties of your state. You will thus work with men of goodwill to build a city based on brotherhood, where a man will be respected for his unique dignity as being one created “in the likeness of God”, and where personal, family and social life can be orientated to Jesus Christ, “the goal of human history” (Gaudium et Spes, 45; cf- Apostolicam Actuositatem, 20, and Gaudium et Spes, 40-45). We commend your generosity to the Virgin Mary, who is so much loved here. The Mother of God, whose glory comes entirely from her Son, will guard your commitment and will pray that your apostolate may respond to the deep hope of men, and thus cause this great land, with its deeply religious soul, to shine with the brightness of the good news — the source of justice, truth, liberty and love. THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 45 TO THE NON-CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS ' . .we are able to pray, to dialogue together" Just before leaving for Samoa on the next leg of his journey, Pope Paul VI met various groups in the Apostolic Nunciature. He ad dressed first the non-Catholic Christian communities with these words. Dear brothers, We greet you in the love of Christ as members and representa tives of various Christian communions. Although your communities and the Catholic Church are not as yet linked in bonds of full unity, nevertheless we are brothers (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio, 3). We share the faith which makes us subject to one Lord. We acknowledge one Baptism. The “written word of God, the life of grace, faith, hope and charity and many other gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Ibid.) are the common heritage bestowed on us by the Father because of the merits of the saving sacrifice of His beloved SonAt this moment one cannot but think of the important calling of the peoples of the Philippine Islands. This land has a special vocation to be the city set on the hill, the lamp standing on high (cf. Mt. 5:14-16) giving shining witness amid the ancient and noble cultures of Asia. Both as individuals and as a nation you are to show forth the light of Christ by the quality of your lives. In the first place this calls for a living unity in charity and truth. Our Savior asked that for us of his Father when he prayed that his followers might be one, united by the very life of Father, Son and Holy Spirit “so that the world mav believe it was you who sent me” (Jn 17:21). We are painfully aware that this unity is not yet perfect among us. But we are heartened because our Lord has prayed for his followers “that they may become perfectly one” (Jn 17:23). And indeed it is in God’s goodness that we have become aware again in these times of the very real bonds already existing between us 46 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS We have rediscovered what is common in our heritage and therefore now we are able to pray together. Now we are able to engage in dialogue and in study of theological problems. Moreover, in a way that is particularly needed at this time we can now pledge ourselves to work together to promote justice for all, in our own lands as well as among the family of nations. And you have many opportunities to do this here in the Philippine Islands. There is the boundless desire of your young people to achieve a society in which honesty and integrity are paramount. There is the desire of Christians, both of the Catholic Church and of the commu nions to which you belong, to be the new leaven that will help purge out all corruption (cf- 1 Cor 5:5-8) in particular that which proliferates when all the concern of men’s hearts is set on power and wealth. And in this happy moment of encounter we would like to stress what we have already said: “We are sure that all Christians, our brethren, will wish to expand their common cooperative effort in order to help mankind vanquish selfishness, pride and rivalries, to overcome ambitions and injustices, to open up to all the road to a more human life, where each man will be loved and helped as his brother, as his neighbor” (Populorum Progressio, 82). This is the direction to which the Catholic Church is committed. The task of assisting the whole development of human beings is to be served by Catholics working together with their fellow Christians, and indeed with all men of good will. As you thus proclaim the Good News of Christ by the quality of your lives and by the integrity of your social order, may it also become increasingly possible for you and for the sons of the Catholic Church “to make together before the nations a common profession of faith in God and in Jesus Christ” (Ad Gentes, 15). Dear friends, we thank you for the gracious courtesy of your visit to us and we pray that our presence with you at this time may serve the cause of “him whose name unites us” (Ibid.). THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 47 GREETINGS TO THE NON-CHRISTIANS "Brotherly collaboration for justice and peace" The Holy Father gave this address to the non-Christian group on the same occasion. Your desire that we should also speak to you who represent all the religious practiced in this beautiful archipelago coincided with our own desire. It is with joy that we have found the occasion for this meeting. Placed as we are at the head of a Church that is called Catholic and experiences catholicity — that is to say, universality — our thoughts and our concern cannot be halted by any barrier of place, people or religion; they extend to all men. With all the more reason we feel ourself close to those who have in common with us the momentous search for the divine and a trusting submission to the laws of heaven, those who look to religion for answers to the great problems which confront and torment mankind and who also find therein their strength and their hope. You are certainly aware that in these days the Church has wished to open herself still more to fraternal contact with all peoples of all civilizations and all religions. She respects and admires the treasures bestowed on all people, and she invites them to join with her wherever collaboration is possible for a more perfect and universal reign of justice and peace, and for the eradication of the great misfortunes or miseries afflicting so many millions of our brothers. 'It is always a joy to find such unitedness as is the case in your country. We pray God to preserve it and increase it, for his honor and service, and for your welfare and that of the whole world. TO THE MEMBERS OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY "the spiritual bond that links us" At the Nunciature before leaving Manila the Holy Father also greeted the Jewish community. 48 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS We are pleased to know that Jewish people in the Philippines ex pressed joy and expectation when they learned about our desire to visit this country. Now that we have come, we wish them to know that our heart responds to theirs with joy. We hope that the feeling of expec tation will be replaced with one of spiritual fulfillment, both in their hearts and in ours, as they and we together recall on this occasion what the Second Vatican Council called “the spiritual bond linking the people of the New Covenant with Abraham’s stock” (Nostra Aetate, 4). GREETING TO THE MEMBERS OF THE PHILIPPINE BIBLE SOCIETY "...a pleasure to have in our hands the first-fruits of that work in the Philippines..." The Pope also met members of the Philippine Bible Society which is collaborating in the translation ol the Bible into the local dialects. We are grateful for the gift of these specially inscribed copies of the Gospel of Mark presented to us by the Philippine Bible Societies, with which the Catholic Church now shares many fruitful cooperative programs. We know that, with the approval of the bishops, there are inter confessional translations of the Bible in five of the languages of this country, made in accordance with the guidelines approved by us and by the authorities of the United Bible Societies. It is with pleasure to have in our hands today the first fruits of that work in the Philippines, the Gospel of Mark in Tagalog and IlocanoWe fervently hope that deeper acquaintance with Christ through the word of God will bring about better and ever more widespread witness to Christ in the Philippines. THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 49 IN TONDO . .the great illusion of our time, to think that the supreme aim in life consists in struggling for and winning economic and social, temporal and external goods.'' At about 4:00 p.m. on the Pope's last day in the Philippines, he went to Tondo to be with the poor and gave these words to the inhabitants of that section of Manila. I am grateful to those who brought me to this section of the city, because it is here I have been sent. It is my duty to come here because I have to have the same mission as that of Jesus Christ; and God; the Father in heaven, sent him, as he has told us, to bring to the poor the good news, the Gospel (Lk 4:18). Coming among you, I become aware of my mission; and so I thank you too for welcoming me and for listening a while to what I have to say. I come among you as one sent by Christ; this means as a shepherd to his flock, as a friend and a brother. I am head of the Catholic Church and its servant and I feel it my duty to proclaim here before you that the Church loves you, loves you who are poor. What does it mean to say that the Church loves you? 1. It means that the Church recognizes first of all your dignity as human beings, as children of God. She recognizes your equality with all other human beings. She recognizes, moreover, that preference, is due to you because your needs are many in order to give your lives sufficiency and well-being, both material and spiritual. I feel obliged, here more than anywhere else, to proclaim the “right of man”, for you and for all the world’s poor. 2. And so I must also say that the Church must show you love, give you assistance and aid you also in a practical way and with her generous service. She must promote your economic and social libera tion, reminding herself and civil society to give real recognition to your 50 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS fundamental human rights and to advance in every field your opportu nities for attaining the development and well-being of modem living, through the dignified ways of assistance (which we call charity), and then through the ways of honest labor and civil order. 3- I must also remind you, in virtue of my apostolic ministry, that apart from material bread, apart from the temporal well-being to which you rightfully aspire, and for the attainment of which all are obligated to you in solidarity, you, like all true men, have other higher needs. It is, as Jesus Christ taught: “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Lk 12:15). This is the great illu sion of our time, to think that the supreme aim in life consists in strug gling for and winning economic and social, temporal and external goods. You were created for a higher good, for a “kingdom of heaven”. Only there can one have fulness of life, present and future, just as Jesus taught us. You are also called to be Christians by faith, grace, honesty of life and by belonging to the Catholic Church. This is no vain ima gining. It is truth. And like all the poor, all the suffering, all who long for justice and peace, you are the ones who are first and truly called to this destiny of redemption and happiness. Permit me therefore, as the humble Vicar of Christ, to make his human and divine message resound here for you and for the world; “How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3). So, coming to you, I arrived “with rich blessings from Christ” (Rom 15:29). DEPARTURE FROM MANILA "We bid good-bye with emotion, gratitude" The Holy Father left Manila a few minutes alter seven in the eve ning of the 29th of November. He gave this final address to the Filipino people before boarding his special plane. This brief stay in the Philippines has been a very great joy for us. We have lived through these days surrounded by the affection and the THE POPE SPEAKS IN THE PHILIPPINES 51 inexhaustible kindness of the Filipino people. It has been our good fortune to experience their spirit of hospitality and the fervor of their religious faith, and also to catch a glimpse of their dynamism. We bid them good-bye with emotion and an inexpressible gratitude. Our thanks go to all those who have made this visit possible. First of all to His Excellency the President of the Republic, who has had the kindness to come to meet us together with the members of his Government. Then also to the civic authorities of the city of Manila, who have prepared and organized our stay remarkably well We thank Cardinal Santos, Archbishop of Manila, and the episcopate of the Philippines, whose fraternal affection has made our being among them so pleasant. We shall never forget the country of the Philippines. We shall pray for it. May God sustain all those who hold authority in the land, both in the civil and the religious spheres, to assure this worthy people the benefits of civilization and of economic and social progress, as well as the graces of a clearsighted and generous Christian life. May they all, each in the sphere of his proper competence and yet in close collaboration for the common good, remain full of courage and hope in spite of the dimensions of their task. We are continuing our journey, comforted by this first stage which will ever remain imprinted on our memory. The bond of love which links Rome — the mother and head and still more the friend and ser vant of all the Churches — to the Churches of Asia has been wonder fully reinforced. We see in this a pledge of the divine blessing upon our spiritual and apostolic mission. May God bless the Philippines. May his blessing extend to those who live in this immense archipelago, to the most far-flung of its islands. Nawa’y manatili sa inyo ang pag-ibig at awang Diyos! May the mercy and love of God be always with you! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Long live the Philippines! DOCUMENTATION TELEGRAMS OF THE POPE TO THE PHILIPPINES Before the Visit His Excellency Ferdinand E. Marcos President of the Republic of the Philippines As the long-awaited moment of our arrival in your country approaches we send Your Excellency our warm salutation with the assurance of our prayers for your welfare and happiness and that of all the beloved people of the Philippines. PauluA pp. VI After the Visit His Excellency Ferdinand E. Marcos President of the Republic of the Philippines Deeply touched by the warmth of the welcome given us in your land, we assure you once again, as we leave the Philippines, of our heartfelt gratitude and implore the Lord to bestow abundant rewards upon all the Filipino people, as a pledge of which we impart anew our affectionate Apostolic Blessing. PaulaA. pp VI To the President of the Episcopal Symposium Cardinal Rufino Santos Manila To you, our venerable brother and through you to all the members of the episcopate in Asia whom we had the pleasure of meeting in your city, we send this assurance of our warm appreciation, and united with all in the close bonds of charity, we impart our cordial Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of the abiding favor of the Lord for themselves and the Churches they are called to serve. Paului pp. V! The Asian Bishops Conference opened with a pontifical concclebrated Mass at the VST chapel on November 23, 1970. Cardinal Santos of Manila was main celebrant assisted by the Presidents of the various Episcopal Con ferences of Asia. After the Mass the Papal Delegate to the Asian Bishops Conference opened the cultural and religious exhibits at the VST Main Library. Upper photo. Pope Paul VI arriving at the UST campus amidst cheers of some 50,000 students; Lower right: Pope Paul VI greeting the students who gathered at the UST campus to hear his message to them last Novem ber 28, 1970; Lower left: after his speech Paul VI blessed the throng gathered at the UST campus. His holiness, Pope Paul VI engages some students in intimate conversation. Flanked by the Presidents of the various Episcopal Conferences cf Asia, Paul VI presided during the closing session of the Asian Bishops Con ference on November 2S. 1970. Pope Paul VI delivered a special message to the different bishops of Asia gathered at the I’ST College .of Medicine auditorium. At the end of his address, Paul VI posed with the cardinals and bishops of Asia in this rare photo. THE SEVEN POSITION PAPERS IN THE PAN ASIAN MEETING OF EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES Manila, November 23?Z9, 1970 Following is the opening speech delivered by Archbishop Tcopisto V. Alberto, presi dent of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. Your Eminences: Your Excellencies: Guests: Friends: — This historical meeting of the Bishops of Asia was conceived and planned by representatives of the different Asian Conferences in October, 1969, during the Synod of Bishops held in Rome. The idea was conceived in a common consultation of the Bishops of Asia in order to give meaning to the doctrine of episcopal collegiality, to dedicate a time of serious collective study to the problems predomi nant in the region, and to find ways and means to foster the common welfare of the Asian countries, and to promote the growth of the Church among their people. The gravity of the responsibility incumbent upon us, as shepherds of the flock entrusted to our care by God, requires a serious study of the causes, difficulties, and hardships that contribute to retard the develop ment of the social, economic, educational and cultural and, even theolo gical life, of the peoples of Asia. The seriousness of our responsibility is aggravated by ideological threats and material handicaps, and, in order to surmount these, the Bishops of Asia need the aid of sister churches in other parts of world. Nevertheless, while we need the assistance of others outside of Asia, we should be on the alert that what is valuable in our own cultural 54 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS heritage, and our profound religious spirituality be zealously preserved. It would be precisely one of the aims of the Bishops’ meeting to safeguard for Asian development its own native character. The world’s attention is focused on us at this very moment. There is great expectation that this Meeting will produce practical solutions to the problems that have been nagging our Asian countries for so many years. This is precisely the objective of this meeting. The topics we are going to discuss will deal with the social, political, economic, cultural, educational, and religious life of the peoples of Asia. They are subjects that are universal in character and in scope, because they are common to the people of almost all areas of the world, but they are particularly relevant to the present condition of the Asian coun tries. We are not to presume to offer solutions to the ills plaguing the world at large, but rather the problems knocking right at our own door. We don’t assume either, that our solutions will be exclusively Asian, for the problems in some measure are universal. We should adopt uni versally tested and tried solutions, with special adaptations to our Asian situation. The frank exchange of views, ideas and information regarding our respective countries will give us a clear vision of our common problemsOur knowledge of the real condition of the people of Asia will serve as a basis in assessing their needs, their expectations, their hopes. It affords us an opportunity to delve into and examine more deeply the realities of our own situation. It places us in the best position to choose the remedies appropriate to the maladies of our people. Today we are happily gathered in collegial meeting to give eloquent testimony of the wish of the Holy Father expressed in his Motu Proprio ‘‘Ecclesiae Sanctae”:— “That relationships between episcopal confer ences especially of neighboring countries be fostered and maintained in opportune and suitable ways”; “that questions which may be of great importance in modern times and particular circumstances be seriously studied”; and, “that dangers and errors arising in their own countries which can also creep into other countries be indicated; so that suitable and opportune measures can be taken to guard against them, remove them, or constrain them”. (Ecclesiae Sanctae I, 41, 5). THE SEVEN POSITION PAPERS 55 We are neighbors not only from the fact that we live in adjoining lands. Our neighborliness embraces a much wider and deeper dimen sion than the geographical circumscriptions in which we live. Our faith, our culture, our mores, our problems, our needs, and many other things which we share in common, make us true neighbors. All these contri bute favorably towards mutual comprehension and understanding. They likewise place us in a vantage position to work together harmoniously and effectively for the total development of our people. As a matter of fact the topics tentatively proposed by the 13 Presi dents of the different Episcopal Conferences of Asia who attended the Synod of Bishops in Rome in October 1969, were later thoroughly dis cussed, assessed, expanded and unanimously approved by 18 representa tives from different Asian Bishops’ Conferences in a study meeting held in Manila >n April 1970. In these two preliminary meetings the Bishops tried to verify and identify the major problems and the legitimate aspirations of the peoples of Asia who rightfully aspire to total development and progress. Too long have they been bound by the shackles of poverty and illiteracy. Even though the existing distress of our common condition presses for an immediate solution, yet, the fact that the great majority of the Asian people live in a sub-human condition is not necessarily the problem that we seek most urgently to sclve. In their depressed material condi tion they can always find temporary relief in the aid and sympathy of their fellowmen, and in the spiritual comfort their religion can offerThe major problem, and this our deep concern at the moment, is how to provide them with the opportunity to rise * permanently from their present level of depression. Their misery, we repeat, does not consist merely in being situated in a sub-human condition, but principally in being without means to extricate themselves from such a deplorable condition. And the con dition is really deplorable. The problem is not so much of obtaining a measure of comfort over and above what is essentially necessary for human subsistence, as of liberating them from the bondage of a sub human existence by providing them with the power to obtain the very necessities of life. 56 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS The focus of the solutions should be the liberation of man from misery, the elevation of his person to the dignity and decency he deserves as a worthy creature of God in the consortium of honorable men. The Church and its Bishops, being the constituted authority and guardians of the purity of Christian doctrine which insists on upholding the dignity of the human person, cannot remain indifferent to the social struggle going on in the world for the assertion of individual freedom. However, in extending the activities of the Church to the solution of social problems, attention should not be diverted from her principal and primary mission which is essentially spiritual, moral and pastoral. Bishops are preachers of the Gospel and dispensers of the means of salvation rather than experts in the area of physical technology or economic science. Churchmen are not supposed to be either technicians or scientists in the material development of the world. There are lay experts for this. And that is their area of competence. As preachers and ministers of a kingdom that is not of this world, although in this world, it is the task modem social development presents, how the Gospel is to be interpreted and preached; and how to apply its teachings so as to make them conform to the legitimate requirements of modem technological experiences and social development. In our eagerness to hasten the development of the peoples of Asia where only one out of every forty is Catholic, there is danger that the Church may give the impression that it seeks the happiness of mankind in this transitory world more than the attainment of the Kingdom of Heaven. This impression can only be given if the spiritual and eternal values on the one hand, and the temporal and material goods on the other, are not properly presented and accurately understood in their intrinsic worth- That is why in the preparatory meeting held in Manila in April 1970, it was clearly emphasized that our concern with development is essentially spiritual and pastoral. Any program of development must always be made to relate to the upliftment of the dignity of the human person, and ultimately towards the attainment of his final purpose in life. THE SEVEN POSITION PAPERS 57 It is not often that the Bishops of Asia come together, so seriously concerned with the demands of their pastoral responsibility and so deeply impressed by the human wants of the people. Individual differences and cultural gaps that intervene among our countries, far from hindering the harmonious progress of this meeting, will be a challenge to make manifest the catholicity of the Church and the collegiality of Bishops. It is not language, culture nor technology that will unite men in mutual love, but unity of faith and charity in Christ. It is this unity among the peoples of Asia, based on faith in God, charity in Christ and love among men, that this meeting of Bishops is seeking to establish through solicitude for human fulfillment in conformity with the Gospel doctrine. The Episcopal Conference of the Philippines cordially welcomes the Episcopal Conferences of Asia, and wishes them a pleasant and fruitful sojourn. The Episcopal Conferences of Asia would like to express their deepest sentiments of gratitude to the Holy Father for having deigned to send a representative to this Meeting in the person of His Excellency, Most Rev. Archbishop Pignedoli to whom we extend our most heartfelt welcome. But above all the Episcopal Conferences of Asia are most grateful to the Holy Father for having imposed upon himself the heavy sacri fice of a long arduous journey so that he could be with us to get a personal knowledge of our problems, to share with us our anxieties and inspire us in our apostolic labors. The Episcopal Conferences of Asia would like also to renew to His Holiness the testimony of their profound devotion by pledging to him, as supreme pontiff of the Church, their unconditional adhesion and collegial collaboration. We humbly pray that the Good Lord may per fect and strengthen this human renewal. May the Holy Spirit bless and assist us in our deliberations that this Meeting will bring an increase and enjoyment of peace and pros perity. I thank you. SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN ASIA AND THEIR SOLUTIONS Paul Cardinal Yu-pin President, Episcopal Conference of China Since the Asian region is immense, its peoples so diverse, and social conditions vary from country to country, it would be impossible to define social problems in Asia and propose solutions that would be applicable to individual countries. Obviously this will be the task of the assembly through its group discussions and studies. My immediate assignment is to help initiate fruitful discussions by bringing into focus certain major issues, principles and goals pertaining to the subject matter. I. STANDARDS AND YARDSTICKS When we speak of social problems in Asia, we must have in the back of our mind certain standards or yardsticks according to which social conditions may be defined as either ideal or short of ideal. Such standards are found in the United Nations Universal Declara tion of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly in December 1948, and subscribed to by all the U.N. member nations. The inter national body proclaims this declaration as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. For the first time in human history the organized community of nations has issued a Magna Carta of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and it has the authority of the body of opinion of the United Nations as a whole, and millions of men, women and children all over Asia are now turning to this document for help, guidance and inspiration. Pope John XXIII in his Encyclical Pacem in Terris called this declaration "an act of the highest importance performed by the United Nations Organization” (n 143). The first two articles of this document lay down the funda mental principles of human rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights .. . Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other states .. .” Articles 3 to 21 deal with personal, civil and political rights, which have long been recognized in the constitutions and laws of the majority of the countries in the world. In articles 22 to 27, the SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN ASIA 59 Declaration sets forth the essential economic, social and cultural rights to which all human being are entitled. The enjoyment of civil and political freedoms and that of economic, social and cultural rights are interconnected and interdependent, and man is not free if he is deprived of economic, social and cultural rights. Such standards are also found in the U.N. Declaration on Social Progress and Development, adopted in December 1969. The follow ing summarizes the major concepts and points of this important document: — Development should be founded on and promote human dignity, human values, human freedom, human rights and social justice. — Development should aim towards continuous raising of the material and spiritual standards of living of all members of society in compliance with human rights and fundamental freedom. — Development should attain the following basic goals: 1. The assurance of the right of work and the right of free choice of work; promotion of full productive employment and elimination of unemployment and underemployment; estab lishment of equitable and favourable safety conditions of work; assurance of just remuneration for all labour as well as sufficiently high minimum wages to insure decent stand ards of living. 2. The elimination of hunger and malnutrition and the guarantee of the right to proper nutrition. 3. The elimination of poverty; the assurance of a steady improve ment in levels of living of a just and equitable distribution of income. 4. The achievement of the highest standards of health, and the provision of health protection for the entire population. 5. The eradication of illiteracy and the assurance of the right to free compulsory education at the elementary level and to free education at all levels; the raising of the general level of life-long education 6. The provision for all, particularly .persons in low-income groups and large families, of adequate housing and com munity services. 7. The protection of the consumer and rationalization of con sumption. Such standards are finally found in the great social encyclicals especially in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. For the sake of brevity, let us mention only Pacem in Terris: In par, I, Order Between Men, the Pontiff declares that “Any human society, if it is to be well-ordered and productive, must lay down as a foundation this principle: that every human being is a person; his nature is endowed with intelligence and free will. By virtue of this, he has rights and duties of his own, flowing directly and simul taneously from his very nature, which are therefore universal, in violable and inalienable.” (n 9) 60 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS This declaration of principle is followed by an enumeration and affirmation of basic human rights which coincide with those pro claimed by the United Nations and which we may call the Church’s Declaration of Human Rights. These are the standards we all recognize, accept and proclaim; these are also the standards solemnly set forth in the constitutions of all the free countries of Asia. But, alas, to proclaim lofty ideals is one thing, and to fashion realities according to ideals is another thing. If we look at the social scene of Asia today, we find that more often than not the realities do not measure up to the standards. II. SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN ASIA Although socio-economic conditions in Asia vary from country to country, a quick survey will reveal the following general picture: In most of our countries, a clear distinction can be made of roughly three categories of people: — The peasant mass, still constituting around 60% of the total population, living in the rural areas and scraping a living from agriculture, livestock raising, fishing, and small-scale agro-industries. — the growing urban-industrial mass including factory workers, service workers and all the small people who live in the urban areas and 'earn their living in a hand-to-mouth fashion. — the elite which includes government officials, businessmen and professionals. Rural Conditions In spite of the fact that the rural sector is still the most im portant sector in Asia, it is however generally the most neglected and depressed sector. Land reform, long overdue, has yet to be adopted or adequately implemented in many Asian countries. As a result, the majority of the peasants are deprived of incentives as well as of the means to improve their farming methods and increase their income. The main problems, as stated by the Asian Ecumenical Conference for Development, are: — “Semi-feudalistic agrarian relations and uneconomic holdings which keep agricultural incomes at subsistence level, and socio-political structures which perpetuate the depressed con ditions of the peasantry; — Lack of farmers’ organizations of various types; — Increasing unemployment and unsystematic migration in urban areas; — Lack of credit on easy terms, low prices of agricultural crops, and lack of storage, processing and marketing facilities; — Lack of suitable educational facilities and technical extension services; SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN ASIA 61 — Lack of adequate housing; — Malnutrition and lack of health and sanitation facilities; — Insufficient transportation, communication, electricity, irriga tion, recreational and cultural facilities.” (AECD p.8) Labor Conditions With the growth of industry, an increasing number of rural people are moving in o the cities. Unplanned internal migration creates problems both for the rural communities and for the city centers. While migration causes labor shortage in the countryside and disloca tion of family life, it aggravates living and working conditions for the low-income urban dwellers. The migrants to the cities are mostly young and unskilled. Asian cities lack organized employment services and educational and train ing facilities to prepare these migrants for, and provide them with, gainful employment. Uprooted from their rural home communities, these people are left completely on their own. Many are under employed and have to eke out a marginal existence with all sorts of odd jobs. Fully employed factory and service workers fare no better. An tiquated or weakly enforced labor legislation and lack of labor or ganization leave the workers without protection and expose them to unscrupulous exploitation especially in small factories: low wages, long working hours, miserable housing conditions, lack of insurance and security. Many of our cities are characterized by a striking con trast between gleaming skyscrapers and shabby shantytowns, between acute poverty and lavish and extravagant living. Elite and Power Establishment In many Asian countries, education is only “an escape mecha nism by which the bright and vigorous few among the masses go away from the lowly classes in which they were born to join the elite of the nation.” (The Social significance of the Cooperative Movement p.8). The privileged few control and manipulate the machinery of power for their own good instead of the common good. They are the ones who know how to take advantage of democracy. They know how to participate in the national affairs while the masses don’t; thy are eternally vigilant in guarding their rights while the masses are not; the result is that democracy becomes the democracy of a few .not of the masses; by a few, not by the masses; for a few, not for the masses. Social Structure The entrenchment of power and vested interests on the part of the privileged few, and ignorance, apathy and resignation on the part of the masses have rendered “the present social, economic and political structures and institutions in most Asian countries incapable of eradicating prevailing inequities and injustices and of promoting 62 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS a just social order where man will be able to realize his full potential. The existing structures tend to preserve the status quo where the rewards of individual and group efforts to achieve economic and social progress are enjoyed by a few, while the many continue to live in misery, wanting even in the bare necessities of life-food, clothing and shelter”. (AECD p.34) Concentration of political power in the hands of a few has led to corruption, misuse of power and oppression, and has made a mockery of democracy in the eyes of the majority of people. III. BASIC SOLUTIONS The basic solution therefore lies in changing and reshaping exist ing social structures and institutions. Now, structures and institu tions are created by people, they work through people and are noth ing but patterns of human interactions. To change structures and institutions we must begin with changing the people themselves. The salvation of the Asian masses must come from the people them selves. It is the role of the Church to help them start the process. Most of the Asian countries have adopted a democratic constitu tion and democratic system of government. If democracy has not yet worked, it is clearly not the fault of the constitution or the system itself, it is because democracy has not been applied as it should be. Democracy can only be as good as the people who make it, and the cure of the ills in a purported democratic society is more democracy, not less. To change the existing social structures and to make them truly democratic, we must transform the great majority of our population from ignorant, fatalist and passive pawns into well-informed, selfreliant and active participants of national life. The historic role of the Church in Asia today is to be especially mother and teacher of the poor and less privileged majority. To fulfill her role, the Church must work out ways and means, to educate the people, to help them develop themselves and to integrate them fully into the life and development process of the national community. In this regard, let us recall some of the proposals made recently by two Asian international gatherings of experts: From the Consensus Statement of MISEREOR FAR EAST COL LOQUY: Priority should be given to all kinds of self-help projects with the aim of integrating the underprivileged masses into society and building up just social structures. Wherever there is a lack of effective organization among workers, employees and the underprivileged in general, who form the majority of the population, these people are rendered defenseless against or ganized injustice. The poor cannot bargain. The Church in all her members has a grave moral obligation in insisting strongly on the right of these people to organize and to bargain collectively.” (p. 75) From the Recommendations of Workship E on Influencing Struc tural and Institutional Change of the Asian Ecumenical Conference SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN ASIA for Development: “The churches and church organizations should take the initiative and where possible collaborate with other exist ing organizations in." — The mobilization of people in rural areas in organizations such as the peasants’ and cooperative movements and the mobilization of the underprivileged with a view to redress ing injustice and preventing exploitation. — The strenthening of the churches’ industrial and urban ministry with special emphasis on struggle against injustice, e.g. trade unions, labour movements, and the organization of the organ under-privileged. — The greater involvement of the Christian student and youth organizations in the common struggle for justice and struc tural change. A new orientation and structure for these organizations would be necessary. — The organization of women for their own rights and for justice in the rural as well as in the urban areas.” (AECD p.38). There are already hopeful signs in many parts of Asia where the Church has taken the initiative in promoting self-help and adult education movements among the less-privileged people. These move ments are based on a sound philosophy that social reform and econo mic improvement have to come from education through which the quality of the people themselves is to be first improved, and that adult education should be designed to unlock life to the people, to train and equip them to cope with today’s complex, organized and com petitive society. Through meetings, study clubs, rallies, lectures, leadership courses and other apt methods and tools, people are taught to think about, to do things connected with, and to learn skills for, the necessities and problems of life. The fields to which the people are taught to direct their attention are: labor unions, credit unions, cooperatives, community development etc. Successful action by the people in these fields will help them regain control of their own destiny through ownership and voice in the local and national affairs leading to socio-economic reforms, economic and political democracy and a just society. We hope and wish that movements like these will further be strengthened and extended everywhere. Before I conclude, there remain two problem areas to which I would like1 to call your attention: population pressure and the dis integration of the family. Population Explosion: The problem of population pressure is indeed complex both in its causes and its effects. We are familiar with the guidelines given by the Popes through their encyclical letters especially Mater et Magistra (185-211) and Humanae Vitae. Very recently, the Asian Ecumenical Conference for Development in its Workshop F on Health Development and Population Growth has stated the reasons for urgency to find solutions to the problem and made recommenda tions. We urge that the findings and recommendations of the Con64 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS ference be taken into consideration by this assembly and that a regional organizational mechanism be created to further study the problem in all its implications and prepare for actions toward its solution. Disintegration of the Family: We recognize, with the Second Vatican Council (G.S. 47-52), the vital importance of the family as a basic and permanent social unit. At the same time, we realize that, with changes, in other major social institutions into which the family institution is integrated, both family structure and functions are changing. The rapidity with which the family is subject to changes and is required to make readjust ments causes dislocations and creates problems. To preserve its basic values and function the family today must be helped by the public authority, by scientist, by the Church and through various family organizations and association. Because of the vital import ance of the family both for the Church and for the society, it is hoped that resources and efforts can be pooled to inquire into the problem on a regional basis. May the Holy Spirit enlighten and inspire all of us in our search and quest for better ways to serve the great nations and peoples of Asia. (Continued) PONTIFICAL BULLS Most Rev. James Hayes, D.D. PAULUS EPISCOPUS SERVUS SERVORUM DEI venerabili fratri Jacobo Hayes, hactcnus Archiepiscopo Cagayano, ad Sedem titulo Gabinam translate), salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Decet sane eos Praesules qui mira animi fortitudine atque indefatigata navitate, inter ardua discrimina rerum, Ecclesian suam reperint, homines docuerint christianam veritatem omnimodisque hostium insidiis obstiterint, dum sui officii signum aliis ferendum tradunt, peculiari laude donari. Cum igitur Te, venerabilis frater, iutis de causis, munere Archiepiscopi Cagayani abdicaveris, quod pia industria ac sollerti prudentia exsecutus es, Nos, de consilio S.R.E. Cardinalis Sacrae Congregationis pro Episcopis Praefecti, deque suprema Nostra potestate, hanc tuam cessionem ratam habentes, Te vinculo solvimus archidioecesis Cagayanae et ad Ecclesiam titulo Gabinam transferimus, ad praesens vacantem, postquam Bryanus Josephus McEtengart bo. me.pie obiit, quam tui honoris causa in ordinem archiepiscopalem redigimus, dum Tu unus habebis. Frucris ergo omnibus iuribus et privilegiis, quibus huiusmodi sacra Archiepiscoporum auctoritas gaudet, tenebris autem translaticiis oneribus. Ad fidei autem professionem atque ad ius iurandum fidelitatis quod attinet erga Nos et hanc Petri cathcdram, ab iis iterandis Te eximimus, contrariis non obstantibus quibuscumque. Te denique, venerabilis frater, bene valere iubemus atque omnipotentem Deum, Pastorum fortitudinem atque praemium, ex animo precamur ut divinorum solaciorum Te dulcedine repleat Datum Romae, apud S. Petrum, die altero mensis maii, anno Domini millesimo nongentesimo septuagesimo, Pontificatus Nostri septimo. — TR — Aloisius Card. Traglia S.R.E. Cancellarius Franciscus Tinello Apostolicam Cancellariam Regens t Josephus Rossi Epis. Palmyren. Proton. Apost. Josephus Del Ton Proton. Apost. Expedite die XIV Nov. a Pontif. VIII M. Orsini Plumbator In Cane. Ap. tab. vol. CXXXVII n. 20 Most Rev. Patrick Cronin, D.D. PAULUS EPISCOPUS SERVUS SERVORUM DEI venerabili fratri Patricio Cronin, adhuc Episcopo titulo Abazensi et Praelato Ozamisano, ad metropolitanam Sedem Cagayanam promoto, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Qui die quarto et vicesimo mensis Maii, anno millesimo nongentesimo quinquagesimo quinto, Episcopus titulo Abazensis creatus, ad praelaturam Ozamisanam regendam destinatus es, en hodie, venerabilis frater, Archiepiscopus electus, ad aliam gubernandam Sedem aliumque christianorum coetum ducendum destinaris. Metropolitanae enim Ecclesiae Cagayanae, vacanti postquam venerabilis Frater Jacobus Hayes ad archiepiscopalem titulo Gabinam translatus est, cum sacrorum oporteret praeficeretur Antistes, omnino Nobis idoneus visus es, ad huiusmodi officium obeundum. De sententia ideo venerabilium fratrum Nostrorum S.R.E. Cardinalium qui Sacrae Congregationi pro Episcopis praesunt. deque apostolica Nostra potestate, vinculo Te solvimus sive prioris Sedis titulo Ablazensis sive regendae praelaturae Ozamisanae, Teque ad metropolitanam Ecclesiam Cagayanam transferimus, datis iuribus obligationibusque impositis, quae ex iure communi profluunt, tuamque dignitatem munusaue consequuntur. Ab iterandis autem catholicae fidei professione iureque iurando fidelitatis erga Nos et Successores Nostros eadem potestate Nostra Te eximimus, contrariis quibuslibet non obstantibus. Mandamus praeterea ut hae Litterae Nostrae clero atque populo in metropolitano archidioecesis tuae templo publice legantur, die recurrente festo de praecepto. Quos dilectos filios paterne monemus ut et Te libenti animo accipiant et mandatis tuis pareant, quae dederis. Hortamur denique, venerabilis frater, ut, ad animarum bonum praecipue intuens, sic opereris ut Tibi usque liceat eadem ac gentium Apostoli verba propensioremque voluntatem fidelibus significare: “os nostrum patet ad vos... cor nostrum dilatatum est” (2 Cor.6,11). Datum Romae. apud S. Petrum, die tertiodecimo mensis octobris, anno Domini millesimo nongentesimo septuagesimo, Pontificatus Nostri octavo. —TR — Ai.oisius Card. Traclia S.R.E. Cancellarius Franciscus Tinello Apostolicam Cancellariam Regens t Josephus Rossi Episc. Palmyren. Proton. Apost. Josephus Del Ton Proton Apost. Expedita die XIV Nov. a Pontif. VIII M. Orsini Plumbator PASTORAL SECTION HOMILETICS Fourth Sunday of the year (Jan. 31) Year III: Lk. 4, 21-30: Jesus rejected at Nazareth. People have a penchant for the wonderful, the thrilling, the bizarre, the dramatic. The Mass Media know this very well and exploit it to the full. When Pope Paul VI came to the Philippines, the news papers, radio and television focused on the great number of people who gathered to see and hear him, on the emotional reaction of the crowds, on the attempt to assassinate him. Amid all this fuss the message of the Pope was almost overlooked. Today, as in the past, people prefer wonder and thrill to doctrine, involvement and commitment. The people of Nazareth were ready to accept Jesus as a wonder-worker, but were hostile to him when he presented himself as a prophet or teacher. They were eager to gape at his miracles — to say ohhhh, ahhhh, or hurrah! — but they refused to accept his message, they refused to say, “I repent”, “I believe”, or “I will follow you.” No wonder, no cheers. This was the attitude of the people of Nazareth. No wonder they rejected Christ, who did not want cheers but charity. No wonder they were not saved. Are we still like the people of Nazareth? Shall we, too, hustle Jesus out of town and intend to throw him down a cliff? It is useless to do this, as the Gospel story has shown. Let us, rather, accept Jesus the Teacher- Let us follow his teach ings. Concretely, let us listen to him speaking through the Pope. So 68 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS today, let us resolve to follow what Pope Paul VI said when he addressed the Asian Bishops’ Conference at the University of Santo Tomas: “We cannot keep silent. We must not lose the truth and unity of the faith. We must strive to make the faith the fundamental driving principle of the Christian life of our communities. To this plea for the affirmation and the orthodoxy of the faith permit us to add a plea for prayer. In our day we are witnessing the decline of prayer, and you know the causes of this. Yet in favor of prayer we have two great — though different — resources: the first is the liturgical re form promoted by the recent Council . . . The second resource of prayer is the natural inclination of the Asiatic spirit. We must honor and cultivate this deep and innate religious'sense, which is the hallmark of the soul of the Eastern world. We must defend the spirituality pro per to these peoples and ensure that their contact with materialistic modern secular civilization does not suffocate this spirituality.” Pope Paul VI did not perform miracles but he taught many won derful things. Let us accept him as a teacher and prophet. In doing so, we shall accept not only the Vicar of Christ on earth, but also Jesus Christ himself. Fifth Sunday of the year (Feb. 7) Lk. 5, 1-11: Jesus calls the first disciples. Are you a frustrated lover? a frustrated businessman? a frustrated politician? a frustrated movie actor? a frustrated student leader? I do HOMILETICS not know what kind of frustrated person you are, but I am sure that all of us, at one time or another, have been frustrated. So we can all sympathize with Simon Peter. He was a frustrated fishermanAll night long, Peter and his companions worked, casting their nets time and again. Each time they hauled the nets back, there were no fishes inside. It was a dejected group that washed their nets by the shore of Lake Galilee that morning when a man called Jesus got into one of the boats and taught the crowd that had gathered. When Jesus finished teaching, he told Simon: “Push the boat out further to the deep water and you and your partners let your nets down for a catch.” We who have been frustrated understand Simon very well when he answered: “We worked hard all night long, and caught nothing.” However, Peter added something else. He said, “If you say so, I will let down the nets.” You know the rest of the story. Peter was a frustrated fisherman, but he became a very suc cessful fisher of men. From frustration to success through faith. This, in brief is the Gospel story for today. It has a very important lesson for us. Many of our people arc seriously frustrated in their search for a better life. Discontentment gnaws at their hearts like a cancer. Life has become more and more difficult. Promises of politicians have piled up but nothing ever came out of them- Graft and corruption have become more and more rampant. In their frustration, many people talk seriously about revolution. They mean violent, bloody revolution. They say it is the only solution to our problems. Bloody revolution is not a Christian solution. But more and more people are inclined to favor it, because many Christians just fold their hands. Worse yet, even Christian leaders have joined the frustrated, revolution-oriented camp — if not actively, at least in spirit and attitude. This is bad. What we should do as Christians is to follow the example of Simon Peter. Christ is telling us: “Push your boat out further to the deep water ...” Like Simon Peter, a true Christian should say: “We worked hard all night long, and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 70 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Let us have great faith in Christ and in the transforming power of the Catholic religion. Let us work hard for reforms without violence by ensuring the success of the Constitutional Convention, but if we work hard and pray, it will be like the casting down of the net at the word of Christ. It will turn our frustration into success. Sixth Sunday of the year (Feb. 14) Lk. 6, 17, 20-26: The Beatitudes CkuJick Ute PtMVl There are two versions of the Beatitudes: the religion-oriented version in the gospel according to St. Matthew (5, 3-12), and the social action-oriented version that we have just read. Both versions are Christian and stress valid points- But in choosing Luke’s version for today’s gospel reading, the Church wants us to commit ourselves to Christian Social Action. Luke’s version, not Matthew’s was quoted by Pope Paul VI when he visited Tondo, the heartland of Manila’s slums: “Mapapalad ang mahirap sapagka’t sa fanila ang kaharian ng langit." The Pope expressed his love for the poor on the very first day of his visit to the Philippines, when he addressed the Asian Bishops’ Con ference. He said: "The Church must support as best as she can the struggle against ignorance, hunger, disease and social insecurity. Taking her place in the vanguard of social action, she must bend all her efforts to support, encourage and push forward initiatives working for the full promotion of man. Since she is the witness of human conscience and of divine love for men, she must take up the defence of the poor and the weak against every form of social injustice." HOMILETICS 71 The Pope wanted the Mass at the Quezon Memorial Circle to be a People’s Mass. He especially wanted the poor and the workers to be near him. His homily was principally directed to them: “To you, the poor, I have this to say: Remember that you have a supreme friend — Christ who called you blessed, the privileged inheritors of His kingdom. He personified Himself in you . . . yes, strive to raise yourselves: you have a right and duty to do so. Demand the help of a so ciety that wishes to be called civilized. But do not curse either your lot or those who lack sensitivity, for you know that you are rich in the values of Christian patience and redemptive suffering.” To the rich, the Pope repeated Christ’s warning: “Remember how severe Christ was in your regard, when he saw you self-satisfied, inactive and selfish. And on the other hand remember how responsive and grateful he was when he found you thoughtful and generous.” Not only by words but by deeds did Pope Paul VI preach the gospel of Poverty. At the St. Joseph the Worker Foundation in Barrio Rosario, Pasig, where the Pope went after the Mass at the Quezon Circle, he broke protocol by walking among the people and greeting them- His presence there was itself a sermon. He went out of his way to inaugurate a low-cost housing project for the working class. Then, as a climax to his final day, he chose to visit a poor family in Tondo. Moved by the Pope’s words and example, the Asian Bishops re solved “to be more truly the Church of the poor.” Solemnly, they said: “We must in our way of life share something of their poverty.” They added: “Our own personal lives must give witness to evangelical simplicity, and no man, no matter how lowly or poor, should find it hard to come to us and find in us their brothers.” Significantly, they also promised: “We will not tie our hands by compromising entangle ments with the rich and the powerful in our respective countries.” 72 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS With the Pope and our Bishops, let us today resolve to share in the blessedness of the poor. Seventh Sunday of the Year (Feb. 21) Lk. 6, 27-38: Love of enemies. CaAq. tyiA.4.1 All Christians preach love of one’s enemy. But how can they really practise this, when they cannot even tolerate one another? It even happens that people of the same faith, let us say, Catholic, cannot tolerate one another. A Catholic Chinese father, for example, may strongly oppose the marriage of his daughter to a Catholic Filipino young man, very well qualified except for not being a Chinese. Religious Sisters who prefer to wear lay clothes sometimes cannot look at another Sister in the proper religitftis habit without condemning that Sister as “old-fashioned” or “conservative”. The opposite, of course, can also be the case, when a habit-wearing Sister condemns a Sister in lay clothes as being “too radical’1, and decides to have nothing to do with that Sister. To practise the love of enemies, we must first cultivate certain attitudes. We must first convince ourselves that there can be unity in diversity; that what we want is unity, not uniformity. Pope Paul VI reminded us of this lesson when he told the Bishops of Asia that the Church here need not have a foreign aspect. He said: “Just as Jesus Christ shared the condition of those who were his own, so the man of Asia can be Catholic and remain fully Asian- As we declared a year ago in Africa, if the Church must above all be Catholic, a pluralism is legitimate and even desirable in the one same Jesus Christ.” Another attitude, or spirit we must cultivate, if we are truly to love our enemies, is the spirit of ecumenism. Again, Pope Paul VI HOMILETICS 73 gave us an example of this during his recent visit here. He told a gathering of non-Catholic Christians at the apostolic nunciature that, “although your communities and the Catholic Church are not as yet linked in bonds of full unity, nevertheless we are brothers.” To a non-Christian group, he said: “Placed as we are at the head of a church that is called Catholic and experiences catholicity — that is to say, uni versality— our thoughts and our concern cannot be halted by any barrier of place, people or religion; they extend to all men.!! It is by first mastering the easier task that we learn to master the more difficult ones. So, if we are to master the love of our enemies, let us first master open mindedness and ecumenism. First Sunday of Lent (Feb. 28) Lk. 4, 1-13: The Temptation of Jesus Temptations are always interesting. This is perhaps one reason why three Evangelists (the Synoptics) have stories about Jesus’ temp tation. Even the fourth Evangelist narrates temptations very similar in nature to those narrated by the Synoptics (See Jn 6, 26-34; 6,15; 7,1-4). When I say “temptation”, most probably you think at once of the temptations portrayed in movies and described in novels, that is, temp tations to sinful sexual acts. These indeed are serious temptations that we should all strive to avoid. But there are temptations more serious than these. Jesus was never tempted to do immoral acts. But he was tempted to be materialistic, presumptuous, idolatrous and proud. The devil was too wise to even try to tempt Jesus with sins of the flesh. He knew that only people of weak character succumb to such temptations. Jesus had such a formidable character that the devil gave up the thought of attacking him from this side. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS 74 But even men of great character succumb to temptations of wealth and power. Indeed, it is materialism and the pride of people who are otherwise good, that makes our society an unchristian society. It is because people exploit their workers, corrupt government officials with their money, and grab all the land they can get, that true Christianity has been shut off from the lives of many. There is truth in the declaration that the greatest indecency and immorality in our society today are not the “bomba” movies and the shows and happenings in nightclubs, but the exploitation of the poor by the rich and powerful, and the mockery of justice whenever the weak are involved. As we begin the season of Lent, we are reminded to repent over our sins and ask God’s grace in order to be strong against future temp tations. When we say “sin” and “temptation”, let us not only reject the sins and temptations that appeal to our sensual nature. Let us, even more deeply, repent over our sins of injustice and greed, over our in difference to the lot of our suffering masses, and strongly commit our selves to the practice of true Christian love. Efren Rivera, O.P. HISTORICAL SECTION Notes on THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES * 1521-1898 * An essay towards a history of the Church in the Philippines during the Spanish period 1521-1898, translated by Jose Arcilla S.J., faculty member of Ateneo University, Department of History. 1 Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana, Barcelona, Hijos de J. Espasa, Editores, Tomo 42, p. 890. (continued) • Pablo Fernandez, OP Chapter Twelve THE ROYAL PATRONAGE Among the different kinds of patronage in reference to the pro vision of ecclesiastical benefices, four are pertinent to us to know, namely: the universal ecclesiastical patronage, the universal royal pat ronage, the Spanish royal patronage and the Spanish royal patronage in the Indies. I. The Universal Ecclesiastical Patronage. This is the sum of all the privileges, with the corresponding obligations, which are granted by the Church to some Catholics who found churches, chapels or benefices, or to their successors.1 This patronage is based, first, “on the gratitude of the Church to her benefactors, a gratitude which has inspired her to reward their 76 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS generosity, and, second, on her praiseworthy desire to awaken the piety of the faithful that they might establish foundations for temples or benefices to be able to attend better to the liturgy and the care of souls.”" In this sense, patronage began in the fifth century, when the Church granted the right of presentation to clerics and laymen who had built a church or founded a benefice. In accordance with this right, the founder or “patron,” enjoyed the privilege of presenting to the church authorities a cleric to be rector of a church or to enjoy a bene fice- On the other hand, this privilege, granted almost always to the laity, resulted in so many inconveniences and on so many occasions restricted the free movement of the Church, that she had to curtail or suppress the practice, especially in these last years. 2. The Universal Royal Patronage. This is the privilege granted by the Holy See to monarchs and heads of state to present or propose an apt candidate for a vacant ecclesiastical benefice, major or minor, within the country.2 3 If we apply this definition to the privilege which the Holy See, by tacit consent or written declaration, granted to the Spanish kings of presenting clerics for the ecclesiastical benefices of Spain, we have the Spanish royal patronage. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid, pag. 901. 4 Gomez Zamora, P. Macias, O.P. Regio Patronato espanol e indiano, Mr ’rid, Imprenta del Asilo de Huerfanos del S.C. de Jesus, 1897. p. 176 ff. 3. According to some authors, this started during the period of the Visigoths and, more specifically, in the reign of Recared (+ 589). A convert from Arianism, this king began the practice of convoking national councils, not, as far as we know, against the will of Rome. Canon six of the twelfth council of Toledo celebrated in 1681 granted to the bishop of this city the faculty to consecrate those whom the king might raise to such dignity. This practice, however, was not univer sal, for, in some places, the old procedure continued of electing the bishops by the clergy and the people or, in the more modem system, by the ecclesiastical chapter.4 CHURCH HISTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES 77 During the years of the Reconquest (718-1492), the kings fol lowed the custom, not disapproved by the Holy See, of nominating prelates, rectors, prebendaries for the dioceses, churches or benefices which they restored or founded in the territories recovered from Moslem control. The Catholic kings and some of their successors, wishing that the churches and benefices in the nation should stay only in the hands of qualified Spaniards if possible, obtained from the Holy See very ample powers in the presentation of bishops and the provision of benefices.’’ These powers were granted, first, in 1486 by the bull of Innocent VIII, and later in 1523, the bull of Adrian VI and, finally, in 1753, the Concordat between Benedict XIV and Ferdinand VI. 4. With the discovery and conquest of America in the sixteenth cen tury, a new kind of patronage appeared along the lines of the Spanish royal patronage, the royal patronage of the Indies. This included, not only the right of presentation and provision, but also some control and administration of Church goods and the right to collect ecclesiastical tithes and the fruits of the vacant churches. To this right, however, corresponded the rather heavy obligation of sending missionaries at the expense of the royal treasury, of erecting and furnishing cathedrals, churches and chapters, of maintaining the liturgy, etc., as we shall see further on. The Spanish royal patronage in the Indies, which is what directly concerns us, rests on the following documents: 1. The bull Inter caetera (Among Other Things) of Alexander VI (4 May 1493), granting to the Crown of Spain dominion over the Indies, with the obligation of spreading the Catholic Faith there. 2- The bull of 16 November 1501, granting the right to the tithes and first-fruits of the Indies, but with the obligation of founding and furnishing churches, maintaining their prelates or rectors, and providing for the needs of the liturgy, all out of royal funds.0 'Ibid., p. 185. 'Ibid., pp. 289-291. 78 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS The third document on which the royal patronage of the Indies is based is the bull Universalis ecclesiae (Of the Universal Church) of Pope Julius II (28 July 1508). This granted to the Castilian crown universal patronage over the churches already founded or still to be founded in the Indies.7 8 7 Ibid., pp. 292-304. 8 Ibid., pp. 385-393; Recopilacion de Leyes de lot Reynos de las Indias, Libro 1, Titulo VI, III Titulo VII, Ley 1. 5. This patronage, first granted for the Americas, was extended to the Philippines with the arrival of Legazpi in 1565. From then on, the Governor General of the islands would be the Vice-Regal Patron, or Vice-Gerent of the king in all matters pertaining to the royal patronage which the monarch could not attend to either by himself or through the royal council of the Indies. In the time of the Austrian Hapsburgs, the royal patronage of the Indies was, as a general rule, kept within its proper competence; but, with the accession of the Bourbons in 1700, one notices a greater interference by the king in church affairs, inter ference which reached its widest extent under Charles III (1759-1788). With the facility of communications in the nineteenth century, there is a marked tendency also for the metropolitan government to settle by itself matters pertaining to the patronalo which in other times had been left to the responsibility of the Vice-Regal Patron. Let us, then, see some of the rights and obligations of the royal patronage in the Philippines through three hundred long years. We shall follow a list of entities or persons, as the question demands, for greater clarity. 6. Bishops. In tracing the history of the diocese in a previous chap ter. already indicated that the king had the privilege of presenting to the Holy See candidates for vacant sees on whom the pope bestowed canonical institution. We have also said that the bishops could assume government of their dioceses even before receiving the papal bulls. And before they were given the letters of presentation, the bishops had to swear fidelity to the laws of the royal patronage." CHURCH HISTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES 79 7. Councils. If a prelate wanted to convene a provincial council, he needed the king’s permission. During the sessions, the Vice-Regal Patron had to be present as the king’s representative. Finally, it was absolutely necessary to send the acts of the council to the Royal Council of the Indies for approval before printing or pro mulgation-0 8. Auxiliaries to the Ordinary. According to a royal decree of 8 June 1834, the bishop was ob liged to submit an account of the nomination of the Vicar General to the civil government. According to a law of the Recopilacion de leyes de Indias, the bishops could not keep religious priests as Pro visors.10 In 1847 this law was suspended, but it was revived in 1896. A royal order of 4 December 1861 arranged that when the diocesan Ordinary named a Provisor, he should notify the Vice-Patron who, after consultation with the Council of Administration, would tentatively approve it, until His Majesty sent the usual confirmatory royal cedula as a matter of form.11 9. The Cathedral Clergy, Capitular Vicars. The king likewise presented the can didates for the honors, canonries, prebends and half-prebends of all the cathedrals in the Indies, while the prelate of the Cathedral Church which owned the benefice, conferred the title and canonical institution to the nominee. But, because of the great distance that separated the islands from the Metropolis, the king authorized the Governor General of the Philippines to do the presentation of the aforementioned pre bends ad interim.12 In 1608, the king arranged that in every suffragan see of the Philippines, two clerics be appointed as assistants to the bishop in his episcopal duties, as long as a chapter could not be pro vided for them.13 A royal cedula dated 13 July 1799 instructed 0 Recopilacion, Libro 1, Titulo VIII, Leyes 1 y 2. 10 Ibid., Libro 1 Titulo VIII, Ley 20. 11 Gomez Zamora, op. cit., pp. 405-410. 12 Recopilacion, Libro 1, Titulo VI, Ley 16. 13 Recopilacion, Libro 1, Titulo VI, Ley 18. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Religious heads and superiors and prelates that, where there were no ecclesiastical chapters, as was the case in the three suffragan dioceses of the Philippines, the administration of a vacant church and the nomina tion of a Provisor or Capitular Vicar fell to the metropolitan or, in his absence, to the more immediate suffragan.14 14 Gomez Zamora, op. cit., p. 425. 15 Recopildcion, Libro 1, Titulo III, Ley 1. 10 Ibid., Libro 1, Titulo XIV, Ley 31. 17 Rodriguez San Pedro, Joaquin, Legijlacion Ultramarina, Madrid, Imprenta de Manuel Minuesa, 1866, pp. 862, 865, 869, 889. 10. The Regular Clergy. There are innumerable proofs and evi dences of the interference of the royal patronage with the life of the religious orders in the Philippines. It was the king who approved the establishment of religious provinces and houses,1" the departure of religious missionaries for the Philippines, the license to return to the Peninsula, the assignment of provinces or mis sion territories to each religious order, and the erection of parishes administered by religious ministers. Moreover, due to the difficulty of communications before the nineteenth century, the king usually dele gated some of these privileges to the Vice-Patron, as for example, allowing missionaries to go to Japan or to China from Manila.30 * Some governors general tried to oblige the religious orders to sub mit to them the acts of their provincial chapters; but the latter either found an excuse to avoid the issue or did so with great repugnance. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, we find the monarchs of Spain granting permission to the religious orders in the Philippines to open in the peninsula the colleges of Valladolid, Alfaro, Monteagudo, Ocaha, and approving the statutes by which these colleges would be governed, as well as the program of studies for the young clerics.17 * Corresponding to these privileges of royal patronage, the crown had the obligation to shoulder the expenses of the journeys of the reli gious missionaries. The voyage from Spain to the Philippines usually amounted to Pl,000. When this sum proved insufficient, due to un CHURCH HISTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES 81 foreseen circumstances, the higher cost of living or the devaluation of currency, the religious order or the king himself at the request of the order, made up the deficit. This was the situation until 1849, when by royal order dated 13 July of that year, Her Majesty Queen Isabel II arranged for the govern ment to pay the entire sum of the journey of the Franciscans and add Pl25 for the equipment; two thirds of the journey of the Dominicans and Recollects; none for the Augustinians. The arrangement was based on the economic stability of these orders in the Philippines.18 ,s Ibid., p. 878. ™Ibid., p. 885. 20 Cfr. Injormc del Procurador General, Fr. Domingo de la Escalera... en 9 de Junio de 1700, Ms., APSR, Seccion “Provincial,” 1700. “And inas much as the King orders diat to each of the five religious in Manila P400 and •100 fanegas of rice be given (which is the wheat of this land), so that each order might provide 4 ministers of the sacraments.” (Peguero, P. Juan, O.P., Compendio historial de la Provincia del Santisimo Rosario de Filipinas, Ms..AUST, No. VII). 21 Recopilacion, Libro 1, Titulo III, Ley 7. By a later royal order of 17 December 1854, it was decided, in view of the needs of the royal treasury, to stop the privilege of free passage for the Recollects and Dominicans, but not that of the Fran ciscans.10 From this date until 2 February 1891, when the government agreed once again to pay the expenses of the trips of the religious missionaries for the Philippines, they had to come at their own cost, with the exception of the Franciscans and Jesuits whose journey the government undertook to underwrite. From the sixteenth century on the government followed the tradi tion of distributing to each of the five convents in Manila the sum of P400 and 400 fatiegas of rice for the support of four ministers of the sacraments for the natives any hour of the day or night they might call for them.* 20 The king also supplied a set of sacred vestments, a chalice and paten, and a church bell on the erection of mission churches, Besides, he supplied mass wine for consecration, flour for hosts, oil for the sanctuary lamp.21 And, from the end of the eighteenth century 82 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS to the beginning of the nineteenth, he regularly gave P100 for the mission aries of China and Tonking. In many particular instances, either on his own initiative or on the petition of the Procurators, he also gave other alms, like medicines, cloth for the religious habit, etc.22 On this matter, the royal patronage was generally generous, especially during the reign of Philip V, despite the chronic shortage of royal funds. 22 Recopilacion, Libro 1, Titulo III, Ley 14; “The habits we wear out are of a coarse cloth imported from Mexico, for there is nd linen here; for this the king has ordered the grant of a subsidy of P1200 every year.” (Peguero, Op. cit., No. VIII). 23 Carta del P. Jose Valerio, O.P. al P. Salvador Conlrerat, O.P. 20 de Enero de 1736, MS, APSR, Tomo 36, fol. 279. 24 Rodriguez San Pedro, Op. cit., pp. 861, 887. 25 Ibid., p. 893; Martinez Vigil, P. Ramon, O.P., Memorial al Ministro de Ultramar, 1880, Ms, APSR, Seccion de “Communicaciones oficiales, Tomo 610, folio 192 ff. Quite correctly the Dominican missionary to Tonking, Father Jose Valerio, could write in the eighteenth century: “Rightly or wrongly, we missionaries all eat of the silver of Spain.”23 Besides the alms which the king habitually gave to all the religious orders in common, he used to give particular help now and then, espe cially to the Franciscans who, because they owned no lands, were usually in more need.24 He also proved to be very liberal with the Jesuits when they came back to the Philippines; for, although they were allowed to return only on condition that they would not reclaim their old pro perties, the crown, on the other hand, paid for their journey back and forth, and to each priest in the Mindanao missions he granted a yearly stipend of Pl200 and P400 to each lay brother.25 The king also supported the religious in the active missions, with an annual stipend of money and rice at amounts that varied considerably with the years. He maintained also, from 1737 on, twelve scholarships in San Juan de Letran and Santo Tomas colleges. Costing P1200 yearly, this fund was intended for the formation of six Chinese and Annamite missionary priests destined to work in their respective count ries. CHURCH HISTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES 83 11. Patronage and the Alienation of Church Property. The Par tidas and the Laws of the Indies forbade the alienation of church property in Spain in order to protect the patrimony of the Church. For a diffe rent purpose, that is, with the intention of despoiling the Church of her property, the royal orders of 1821 and 1834 repeated the prohibition in favor of the peninsular government. The second royal order, pro mulgated in the Philippines in 1849, forbade the religious orders in the islands from alienating their goods without license from the crownBut in 1890, another order rescinded the preceding legislation and gave the orders in the Philippines the faculty to dispose of their goods.20 20 Gomez Zamora, Op. cit., pp. 639-642. 27 Ibid., pp. 662-663. 12. Tithes and First-Fruits. Tithes and first-fruits, which in other times were a very important source for the support of the liturgy and the maintenance of the clergy, were not obligatory for the natives of the Philippines. Instead, the practice was to set aside part of the low tribute collected by the government from the Filipinos. Tribute consisted usually of something more than a peso. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, three reales were set aside from the tribute collected, to form a fund known as the Sanctorum for the purposes mentioned. By the end of the nineteenth century, 18% of the entire tribute, normally amounting to a little over a peso, was usually applied to the Sanctorum.* 27 13. Church Monthlies (Mesadas eclesiasticas). In the numerous and still unpublished manuscripts on the Church in the Philippines during the nineteenth century, there is fre quent mention of “church monthlies,” or mesadas eclesiasticas. These monthlies or mesadas (from mes = month) began this way. At the request of Philip IV, the Supreme Pontiff, Urban VIII, granted to the kings of Spain, in a brief of 1625, the privilege of claiming the equivalent of a month’s revenue, i.e.,a mesada, whenever provision was made for some vacant dignity, canonry, prebendary or half-prebendary, offices and benefices of the church, curacies and missions (doctrinas). M BOLETIN ECLESIAST1CO DE F1LIP1NAS The amount was determined by computing the total revenue for the last five years of the benefice in question, out of which the quota for one month was deducted. The nominee, on presentation, promised to surrender this month’s sum to the royal treasury. Both the Recopilacion de leyes de Indias in the older times,28 and the Royal Order of 5 September 1844 in the more recent years, regulated the system of pay ing the mesada- Nevertheless, there was much difficulty in the Philippines, judging from the varied complaints of the government about the matter.29 And so the Crown completely abrogated the practice in the Philippines in the last decade of the nineteenth century.3" 2S Recopilacion, Libro 1, Titulo XVII, Leyes 1, 5. 20 San Pedro, Op. cit., Tomo VII, pp. 738 and 744; Tomo VIII, p. 328; Cfr. Bolelin del Arzobispddo de Manila, 1878, pp. 371-373, No. 46. 30 Gomez Zamora, op. cit., pp. 667-668. it le! Pl.50 a copy Available at th: Smo. 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PKOJECT 3 TEI.S. 99-12-21 QI IHINO DIST., QUEZON CITY 61-36-13 Compliments of: MAR’S STYLE MAKER OF FINE SUIT & ALL KINDS OF UNIFORM Tel. 61-12-86 EUGENIA R. CRISOSTOMO !•>„!,> ".tr.ss JOAQUIN RAMIREZ FRANCISCO ORTIGAS, JR. RAFAEL ORTIGAS JOAQUIN RAMIREZ, JR. RAFAEL ORTIGAS, JR. iRamirpH $c ©rtigas Abui.v1^1'’5 1313 1COXAS BLVD. BUILDING. MANILA TEL. 7 FERIA, FERIA, LUGTU & LA’O a.\i> (or.\>r:i.i.oi:.< at i.a it VKRAUT ART GLASS'REO11 879 BILIBID VIEJO • MANILA • TEL. 47-39-23