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Vatican - Eucharist should make us attentive to needs of the poor, Benedict XVI teaches
Vatican City, May 25, 2008 / 11:03 am (CNA).- Speaking to pilgrims about the feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Benedict XVI said "the Eucharist reveals the true
beauty of Christianity" and is "the school of charity and solidarity that should make us more attentive to the
many people who struggle to procure their daily bread."
"One week ago our gaze was on the mystery of the Trinity; today we are invited to fix our gaze on the holy Host: and thus
on God, the same Love. This is the beauty of true Christianity: The Creator and Lord of all things was made a grain of wheat
in order to be sown on our earth, in the furrows of our history. He was made bread to be broken, shared, eaten; he was made
our food to give us live, his own divine life.”
Pope Benedict also pointed to the fact that Jesus was, “Born in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means ‘house of
bread’.” From these origins, Jesus’ desire to feed his followers became even more explicit in his preaching.
He revealed to the people that “the Father had sent him into the world as the ‘living bread descended from heaven,’
as the ‘bread of life’.”
The Holy Father elaborated on this feast of the Eucharist, calling it "a wonderful gift of Christ, who at the Last Supper
wanted to leave us with this memorial of Easter, the sacrament of his Body and Blood, a token of his immense love for us."
The Eucharist, he said, is "the school of charity and solidarity. He who eats of the bread of Christ cannot remain indifferent
before those, who also in our day, are deprived of their daily bread."
Addressing the problem of rising food costs and poor distribution, he said, "Many parents can hardly procure enough food
for themselves and their children. It is a growing problem that the international community is making great efforts to resolve.
The Church not only prays ‘give us this day our daily bread,’ but the example of the Lord who in so many ways
‘multiplies five loaves and two fish’ with countless initiatives to promote humanity and sharing, so that no one
is lacking in what is necessary to live."
The Holy Father added that Christians are called to be attentive in concrete ways to the many who go without food.
"Dear brothers and sisters, let this feast of Corpus Domini be an occasion to grow in the in this concrete attention to
our brothers, especially the poor."
"We obtain this grace from the Virgin Mary, from whom the Son of God took flesh and blood, as we repeat in a celebrated
Eucharistic hymn, set to music by the one of the greatest composers, Ave verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine… Mary,
who brought forth from her womb Jesus, who was the ‘tabernacle’ of living, imparts to us her own faith in the
holy mystery of the Body and Blood of her divine Son, since he is truly the center of our lives."
At the end of his address, the Pope invited all those present to join him in Rosary in St. Peters Square next Saturday
evening.
May 25, 2008
Amazing how God works!
Hello all. Yesterday's Inquirer had the article "Judging Israel, Judging CFC" by John Nery. It was basically his rejoinder
to the attacks of his fellow columnist Conrado de Quiros against me. But wait, the article looked very familiar. Of course!
It was the very same article that appeared in the May 13 issue of the Inquirer. But wait! Something quite strange. The whole
page, a part of the May 24 issue of the Inquirer, was dated May 13! The Inquirer had printed page A15 of May
13 in the May 24 issue!
Now that is unprecedented. I do not think something like that has ever happened before. Perhaps
it could be understandable if page A15 was from yesterday's issue, since perhaps one page out of the whole newspaper was inadvertently
not replaced by the printers. Or, a little bit more farfetched but still possible, it could be understandable if page A15
had appeared on the same day of the week, in this case Sunday, since perhaps someone had pulled out the wrong Sunday's page.
But May 13 was a Tuesday. What happened was totally unprecedented.
Why did it happen? Well, I was talking with Rene
& Lorna Evidente last night at a CLS and Rene told me about the article, which he saw for the first time (I myself last
night had not yet read yesterday's newspaper). I was even asking if it was a second response of Nery to de Quiros, but it
became clear that it was the same article. So the Lord allowed it to be reprinted, so that those who did not read it the first
time would have the opportunity to see it this time.
But more importantly, God was just showing that He can and does
act miraculously! Beyond our wildest imaginings. God continues to show that He can confound the wisdom of man. That He can
cause to happen what probably has not happened in the whole experience of newspaper publishers. That He can surprise us with
joy. That He can fight for us in His own way.
But there is more. Hold on to your seats! May 13 is the Feast
of Our Lady of Fatima. Mama Mary appeared to Lucia, Francesco and Jacinta on May 13, 1917, as the woman clothed with
the sun. In subsequent appearances, she told the children they will have much to suffer. She told them to say the rosary every
day to earn peace for the world. She showed them a vision of hell. She said that to save people from hell, God wanted to establish
throughout the world a devotion to her Immaculate Heart. Fatima is the key Marian apparition of the 20th century. This was
the time of atheistic Communism, personified by Russia. Pope Pius XI said: "Today we see something that world history has
never seen before: The waving of the flag of Satan in the battle against God and religion, ..."
On May 13, 1946,
Pope Pius XII crowned the image of Our Lady of Fatima and proclaimed her "Queen of the World." On May 13, 1967, Pope
Paul VI went to Fatima and called for renewed consecration to the Immaculate Heart. On May 13, 1981 (the year CFC was
born), Pope John Paul II was seriously wounded by an assassin's bullets. He was saved from death when he turned to look at
a young girl in the crowd wearing a picture of the Virgin of Fatima. On May 13, 1982, Pope John Paul II visited Fatima
and thanked the Blessed Mother for saving his life. On May 13, 1990, Fr Gobbi gave a message that the third secret
of Fatima dealt with apostasy and chastisement.
In 1984, Pope John Paul II consecrated the world and therefore Russia
to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On May 13, 1990, Bishop Amaral of Portugal announced that the collegial consecration
of Russia by the pope to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in union with the bishops of the world, had been accomplished as requested
by Our Lady. However, also on May 13, 1990, Fr Gobbi said that Russia had not been consecrated to Mary according to
her request, and so had not received the grace of conversion.
On May 13, 1991, Pope John Paul II went to Fatima
and thanked Our Lady of Fatima for sparing his life in 1981, and thanked her for the fruits of the collegial consecration
of 1984. In 1991 the Soviet Union fell and broke up into separate republics. Communism had collapsed.
But today the
threats to humanity continue. Satan continues to wreak havoc on nations and even in the Church. Satan has brought a rejection
of God and His law of love, spreading division and hatred, immorality and wickedness and legitimizing divorce, abortion, obscenity,
homosexuality and recourse to any and all means to obstruct life. Mary has revealed that the triumph of her Immaculate Heart
will only come with the defeat of Freemasonry, of materialism, of practical atheism.
God raised CFC as His army in
June of 1981, partly as a response to Satan's attacks on the Church, targeting the very head of Catholicism (May 1981 assassination
attempt against the pope). God manifested His great power through CFC in its first two decades. But Satan was able to infiltrate
the body and eventually succeeded in breaking up CFC, thus threatening to stop its work for family life and evangelization,
the very aspects crucial to the life of the world. But now God restores His remnant. We are back to our original charism,
to our authentic calling. We are back on track.
And CFC-FFL has been consecrated to our Mama Mary. We are under her
maternal protection. She guides us. She desires that her Son Jesus be known by all and accepted as Savior and Lord. And CFC-FFL
is her army that carries the banner of her Son Jesus Christ. But know that, in a revelation by Mary to Sister Agnes Sasagawa
in Akita, Japan, that the demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. The moment of great trial
for the Church has come.
Who can understand God's ways. God has allowed this unprecedented human glitch in a newspaper
article to remind us of what we are about in our life and mission. The enemy promotes New Age and Masonry, uses lies and half-truths
and widespread disinformation, spreads division and hatred, causes people not to reject anti-life scourges such as contraceptives
in the name of helping the poor, causes people to reject God's law of love even as they proclaim love to be their theme, and
removes Christ from the center of people's lives and work. We are into intense spiritual warfare! Satan has waged open war
against God and religion. Satan is out to destroy the Roman Catholic Church. We who stand up in defense of the Church and
who are God's soldiers are deeply involved in this spiritual warfare. Being objects of the enemy's fury, we will have much
to suffer still. But as we suffer for righteousness' sake, we can truly rejoice.
Let us continue to wield the weapons
of truth clothed with righteousness (Eph 6:14). Let us continue and even intensify our evangelization, proclaiming the gospel
of peace. And let us "pray at every opportunity in the Spirit" (Eph 6:18). Let us seek the maternal embrace and protection
of our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace.
We are on the right track, and God has led us there. As we remain steadfast
in restoration, God will vindicate us, protect us, and bless us.
Expect more of such blessed surprises in the days
to come.
God bless us all.
frank
BISHOPS AND NEW ECCLESIAL MOVEMENTS
New ecclesial movements such as CFC
have been recognized by the Church as God's blessings for the work of the third millennium. This is why CFC was officially
recognized by the Vatican, the only one for the whole of Asia. CFC works as an integral part of the one Church, according
to her life and mission.
While ecclesial movements are given wide autonomy, in order not to stifle the Spirit and its
particular charism, the pastoral solicitude of the hierarchy is still very important. The bishops provide guidance, wisdom
and protection. This is especially the case when there is conflict within the movement, as happens many times, and especially
as such conflicts involve the very top leaders. Where do they then turn to? They should turn to the bishops.
CFC ultimately
split because the top leadership of CFC, the Int'l Council (IC), did not submit to the discernment of ecclesiatical authority.
The bishops (Archbp Lagdameo, Bp Reyes, Bp Villegas) only intervened in order to correct the veering away, and did it out
of great love for CFC. But the IC refused the strong recommendations of the 3 bishops, reneged on the win-win agreement approved
by the bishops, showed continuing disrespect to their Spiritual Director by not following his directives (such as giving all
CFC members his letters addressed to all) and by distorting his actions (thus causing him to formally correct them at least
3 times).
All the disrespectful actions of the IC led to the resignation of Bp Reyes as their Spiritual Director. Such
is an unprecedented move! In resigning, Bp Reyes said that he would always side with what was right and true. He had found
that CFC under the IC had veered away and had been disobedient to the bishops, and were no longer following his wise advise
and directions to them. With the resignation of their very own Spiritual Director, the non-submission to ecclesial authority
by CFC under the IC was complete. CFC had lost the guidance, wisdom, discernment, and moral grounding that could only come
from the bishops.
Having rejected the bishops, CFC-GK, through its apologists, even now attacks them, attacking even
Cardinal Rylko of the Vatican. Now they also no longer have their founder, in whom the charism of the ecclesial movement is
vested. Having lost the guidance and protection of the pastors and shepherds of the Church, CFC under the IC may simply have
lost what is good, true and beautiful.
CFC-FFL
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RESPECTING
THE CHARISMS OF ECCLESIAL MOVEMENTS
VATICAN CITY, 17 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received
in audience a group of bishops, participants in a seminar promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Laity to reflect on the
question of pastoral solicitude towards ecclesial movements and new communities. The seminar
was held from 15 to 17 May at Rocca di Papa near Rome.
"Ecclesial movements and new communities",
said the Pope, "are one of the most important novelties the Holy Spirit has generated in the Church in order to put Vatican
Council II into effect. ... Paul VI and John Paul II were able to welcome and discern, to encourage and promote, the unexpected
emergence of the new lay groups which, in various and surprising ways, restored vitality, faith and hope to the entire Church".
Although "no small amount of prejudice, resistance and tension has been overcome", said the Holy Father, "there remains the
important task of promoting more mature communion among the components of the Church, so that all charisms, while respecting
the specific nature of each, may fully and freely contribute to constructing the one Body of Christ".
Pope Benedict then turned to consider the theme of the seminar - "I ask you to reach out to the movements with great love"
- an exhortation he himself had addressed to a group of German bishops on their "ad limina" visit in 2006. "Reaching our with
great love to movements and new communities", he said, "impels us to an adequate knowledge of their situation, avoiding superficial
impressions and reductive judgements". This helps us to understand that such movements "are not a problem, ... they are a
gift from the Lord, a precious resource to enrich the entire Christian community with their charisms".
"Difficulties and misunderstandings on particular points do not justify [an attitude] of closure", said the Pope. And he told
the prelates that they must "closely accompany" the movements and new communities "with paternal solicitude" so as to put
to good use "the many gifts they bear, gifts we have learned to know and appreciate: their missionary drive, their effective
courses of Christian formation, their witness of faithfulness and obedience to the Church, their sensitivity to the needs
of the poor, and their wealth of vocations.
"The authenticity
of the new charisms is guaranteed by their willingness to submit to the discernment of ecclesiastical authority", the Holy
Father added. In this context he indicated that bishops "must examine and test the charisms in order to recognise and evaluate
that which is good, true and beautiful, that which contributes to increasing the sanctity of individuals and of the community.
And when it is necessary to intervene in order to correct", he concluded, "such interventions must also be expressions of
'great love'".
AC/MOVEMENTS/CON-L
VIS 080519 (470)
WHERE REALLY "IS THE RUB?"
The CFC-FFL owes
it again to the likes of Messrs. Esposo and de Quiros that GK and the CFC Council are now shaking in their boots because these
self-proclaimed apologists of Tony Meloto are doing them more damage and harm than good with the almost daily tirades
of "chair wreckers" and pony-tailed rub-a-dub-dubs further alienating them from the Catholic Church while their statutes proudly proclaim
they are sworn to defend and protect it. But where "is the rub" coming from this time? It's a vitriolic reaction to
a CFC-FFL statement exhorting its members to be vigilant in terms of how CFC and GK continue to be manipulated by beliefs
and statements laced with New Age pronouncements long decried by the Catholic Church for their schisms. But why should there be a "rub" if Frank
Padilla was merely warning the members to be wary of the danger these beliefs present to Catholic teachings and doctrines?
Was Padilla merely stating a fact or was it something he conjured out of thin air? Aren't all Catholics be better forewarned
of the subliminal warfare going on? Is Boy Montelibano in truth and in fact Tony Meloto's righthand man, dutifully following
his "creation" with snapshots while the former talks about our duty to build a nation in the midst of problems and complaints
coming from GK donors who continue to ask on how funds disbursed match squarely with the exact number of houses promised?
On GK former sites once bruited to be of 1st world class and showcases now abandoned by its occupants ? On how GK's
upscaling has created horrendous strain on its absorptive capabilities? Where "lies the rub?"
It is not news at all that a year before Frank Padilla and Tony Meloto
resigned as Council members, Tony Meloto addressed the Elders' Assembly of the CFC gathered at St. Paul's Pasig and
managed to step on sensitivities when he said, in so many words, "kung hindi kayo naiiinvolve sa GK activities, dapat
ay maghanap na kayo ng ibang community na malilipatan." That was an ominous rub that signalled Tony Meloto's preparedness
to incur the ire of CFC leaders because he knew he had an array of partners to back up his GK projects. In another assembly
down under in Australia,
Tony Meloto was setting the stage for the eventual divide when he told a CFC audience that "CFC is dead and GK is the new
evangelization." This statement revealed in no uncertain terms where his priorities lie and where he and his spinmasters
would like to take GK into, using the warm bodies of the worldwide CFC network to the clarion call of a not so distant 2010
election. The "rub" here goes deeper than a mere massage but cuts deep into the very core and skin of the body politic.
Of course, the CFC Global blogger who proclaimed "to hell with the Vatican; long live GK!" ( a violent frothing to Cardinal Rylko's admonition
of CFC/GK) shows the lengths to which Meloto's horde of followers would go into to push what is obviously becoming an
agenda that would catapult the bruited "founder of GK" into an arena beyond the social. Proofs of this direction
is how Meloto figured in the latest presidentiable polls and how a triad of columnists continuously harangue their readers
with paeans of praise to this God's greatest gift to mankind. Where "lies the rub?"
The rub lies in the fact
that the Catholic Church,
personified by no less than the Vatican, has deemed it fit to censure CFC and GK from overstressing the social mission to the detriment of
evangelization. The rub lies in GK veering away from the life and mission of CFC by overprotecting its benefactors and donors
to the extent that CFC members were told to avoid "unfurling its Christian banner in public" (quote from Mr.Esposo in a past
column) while Habitat for
Humanity proudly proclaims that it is a Christian organization. The final rub on CFC is the resignation of its Spiritual
Director, Bishop Gabby Reyes, concurrently Chairman of the Episcopal Commission of the Laity of the Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP) who threw in the towel out of exasperation caused by the recidivist misbehaviour of his former
wards towards the Church. Indeed, the Vatican has spoken and instead of taking on the likes of Messrs. de Quiros and Esposo, CFC-FFL is better
advised resting its case. The other side may have just shot its own foot.
Nonong Contreras
May 12, 2008
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wisdom of Bishop Tobias from the Diocese of Novaliches in response to the letter of CFCGMFI
IC asking for the exclusive use of the name "Couples For Christ".
To quote Bp Tobias in the last paragraph, "it is time
to put this opinion
in the open, as this has been the basis of our policy on the CFC so far in our Diocese ...."
IN DEFENSE OF THE CHURCH
Part 3
May 21, 2008 Our
commitment, as expressed in our statutes, is “ to rise in defense of the Roman Catholic Church against the forces
that seek to destroy or weaken it.” The detractors of the Church continue on without let-up, and are even
intensifying in vitriol and hatred. The following is the response of Boy Montelibano to our brother Udo of Berlin,
who wrote Boy asking him to stop his insulting writings. Brother Udo is a German national.
- How narrow-minded you are, Udo, for a citizen of a developed
country that was once Christian but not so much anymore. No wonder you went FFL. You do share the same fundamentalism and
bigotry that characterize a group without any vision but to attack others.
- How ignorant you are, too, to believe that we caused Reyes to resign. The bishop was told by the
Council that he is not the spiritual adviser that CFC wants. And why should CFC want a spiritual adviser who has worked so
hard to hurt and destroy it?
- And why should he not resign? CFC did not choose Reyes to be its spiritual adviser. Frank Padilla,
until last year, never asked for advice from Reyes. Reyes just happened to be the head of LAIKO and gets to be adviser, by
default, of Catholic charismatic/renewal groups unless they choose someone else. And Reyes is stepping down in a few months
from that position and will anyway lose his being spiritual adviser by default. How stupid you must be, Udo, to believe Reyes
would resign because of a few articles. He was not sensitive enough to stay away from a family quarrel and was partisan enough
to cause a great pain to hundreds of thousands to please a few thousand. Why will he let go of a position that can allow him
to have power over CFC unless he is already scheduled to lose it soon?
- There lies the real problem, Udo. People like you and those you follow think you are holier than
others when you may be the farthest from it. It is not only the bishops and priests who sexually abused children in America
that hurt a collective soul. It is also bishops like Reyes and bigots and fundamentalists like your leaders who have abused
the hearts and souls of my brothers and sisters in CFC.
- If you can manage it, have a good life.
- Boy Montelibano
- P.S. By the way, Cardinal Rylko has proclaimed that you cannot use CFC anymore. Oh, I forgot,
FFL can do what it wants without being disobedient. After all, you do not report to the Catholic Church, only to bigots and
fundamentalists. How quickly a German forgets history.
Once again Boy Montelibano degrades Bishop Reyes, whose only "sin" was to stand up for the truth and for what is
right. Once again he tells all sorts of lies about Bishop Reyes, who through the crisis acted with utmost uprightness and
fairness, even bending backwards for CFC-GK and the IC. Once again Boy Montelibano shows his disdain for the clergy.
In his writings he has consistently emphasized their being sexual abusers and bigots and fundamentalists. Having consistently
attacked the clergy, including the bishops, then even Cardinal Rylko of the Vatican, where will these detractors stop? Perhaps,
in insulting Udo, he might even conveniently forget that our beloved pope is also a German. We call on the IC, whose
members say they have control over GK, to correct Boy Montelibano. We call on Joe Tale and the others to defend the Church
and the hierarchy from such constant verbal abuse. We call on them to protect the hearts and minds of their members, especially
the youth, from the secular ideas of New Age. We call upon everyone to pray intently and incessantly for our beloved
bishops and priests. And speak up in their defense whenever they are attacked. God bless and protect us all. CFC-FFL
IN DEFENSE OF THE CHURCH
Part 2
May
12, 2008 Our commitment, as expressed in our statutes, is “ to rise in defense of the Roman Catholic Church against the forces
that seek to destroy or weaken it.” The detractors of the Church are still at it.
- "I have openly questioned or criticized the Church for being laggardly in the fight against poverty ..."
- "After four hundred years, and after our country rising steadily to be rated as one of the poorest and one of the most
corrupt, how can the powerful Catholic
Church be exempted from accountability?"
- "The Church must understand that our poverty ..... is rooted in landlessness and the exploitation of those with POWER
and INFLUENCE. The Church hierarchy, like all Catholics, must examine its conscience, repent for its sins, and move with determination
to atone and do penance. The Church hierarchy has four hundred years to reflect on, as those four hundred years extend their
consequences to the present times."
- (Boy Montelibano, "Against Wrongdoing, Against Shortcomings of Leadership, in the Church and Elsewhere," May 8, 2008)
- "they should hang themselves and their bishop friends for good measure."
- "Meloto doesn't need the Church, the Church needs Meloto."
- "No one (Meloto) has done more to keep the faithful faithful, or at least willing to give their guardians another chance,
amid the determined efforts of many of those guardians to turn Rock into Rubble."
- (Conrado de Quiros, "Defending God," May 12, 2008)
These detractors think that only Gawad Kalinga (GK) is the
way to helping the poor, and if you are not all out for GK, then you are not living out your faith. They ignore the reality
that the Catholic Church
is the one institution that has done so much for the poor and continues to do so. And the Catholic Church does its work with the poor without fanfare
and without any political agenda. But these detractors disdain the Church. In their view, the Church is the main cause
of poverty in the country. And of course, they are the saviors. "Don't you think that Tony Meloto and the GK movers are indeed
the genuine Christians ....?" (William Esposo, "Tony Meloto's Sanctification," April 27, 2008). The pastoral thrust
of the Catholic Church in the Philippines is to build the Church of the Poor. These detractors would do well to find out what
the Church does for the poor---quietly, without mass media, without marketing gimmicks, without sounding its own horn. And
in helping the poor, the Church openly proclaims Christ who loves the poor, not pointing to mere man as the savior of the
poor. Allow us to share this piece entitled "Be Proud That You Are a Catholic - from a prominent Jewish businessman."
This is the situation in the US, where the Catholic Church has been attacked even more than in the Philippines.
- Subject: Be proud that you're a Catholic! from a prominent Jewish businessman
- (Excerpts of an article written by Sam Miller, prominent Cleveland Jewish businessman - NOT Catholic) - submitted by Dee Lynd
-
- Why would the media carry on a vendetta on one of the most important institutions that we have today in the United States,
namely the Catholic Church?
-
- Do you know - the Catholic
Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at the cost to your Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the
other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars. Your graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%, all
at a cost to you. To the rest of the Americans it's free.
- The Catholic Church
has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an enrollment of 700,000 students.
- The Catholic Church
has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals, which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - not just
Catholics - in the United States today.
- But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country. They have blamed the disease
of pedophilia on the Catholic
Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage.
- Let me give you some figures that you as Catholics should know and remember. For example,
- 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate
sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist Church,
- 41.8 % of Protestant clergywomen reported unwanted sexual behavior;
- 17% of Protestant laywomen have been sexually harassed.
- Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been
found guilty of pedophilia. This is NOT a Catholic Problem.
- A study of American Catholic priests showed that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had
expected, and that most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in face of all this obnoxious PR the Catholic Church has been
receiving.
-
- The Catholic Church
is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of the
Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out by now.
-
- Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental agency in
the United States. Then remember what the Prophet, Jeremiah said:
- "Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest
for your souls".
- Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for the country, and all
other religions.
- Be proud that you're a Catholic !
-
- Reprinted excerpts with permission of the Buckeye Bulletin - courtesy of Brookside Council #3297, Cleveland Diocese, USA.
We repeat what was said: "Be proud
to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for the country, ...." And to that we
say, AMEN.
CFC-FFL
BACK TO OUR ROOTS
Once again we are reminded of the raison d'etre of CFC's existence.
God raised CFC as a new ecclesial movement to participate in the work of the new evangelization. We mobilized our members
to become enthusiastic evangelizers. We proclaimed Christ and helped bring Christ into the lives of many individuals and families.
We participated in renewing the face of the earth.
But there was a veering away. A secularized gospel began to be proclaimed,
focusing on the social apart from the spiritual. Christ lost his place at the center. Christ was no longer the star that guided
the activities of some among us.
But now we in CFC-FFL are restored to our original charism. We are back to what God
originally called us to. CFC-FFL is back to being a new ecclesial movement that proclaims Christ and pursues the new evangelization.
And this is the decisive challenge of today. It is not that we are more perfect Christians, as we are all sinners. But now
that we are restored to doing God's work in accordance with His plan, then we can expect His anointing, as we are but instruments.
Let
us move on then, and proclaim Christ with a passion.
God bless.
frank padilla
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Cardinal: God Sending Eager Evangelizers Calls Movements and Groups an Answer to Church's Needs By Jesús Colina VATICAN
CITY, MAY 12, 2008 ( Zenit.org).- New movements and ecclesial realities are part of God's answer to the Church's need for a new evangelization,
says Cardinal Paul Cordes. The cardinal, who is president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, affirmed this Sunday when he took possession of his
titular see, San Lorenzo in Piscibus, home of the San Lorenzo Center, which Pope John Paul II established 25 years ago as a center to welcome youth to
Rome. When
still a vice president of the Pontifical Council for Laity, Bishop Cordes was entrusted with founding the center. And
now as a cardinal, the prelate said he considers himself committed in a particular way to the new evangelization. The red
hat, he affirmed, is about more than just participating in conclaves for the election of a new pope. Cardinal Cordes
said he chose Pentecost
to take possession of the titular see because the feast is an invitation to the new evangelization, since "the fire, the flame
of the Spirit of God wants to set others ablaze." But, "where are the missionaries?" the cardinal asked. And he answered
that God already considered years ago that the Church would have a need for evangelization. "Since the middle of the
last century, he has brought men and women in movements and new [ecclesial] realities to awaken in
the Church enthusiasm for evangelization," the prelate contended. "He has given them the grace to speak in a fascinated
and fascinating way about Jesus Christ, to enthuse people about the following of Christ, to find in Jesus of Nazareth -- just as he is proclaimed
by the Church -- the center of their very existences and the fount of a plentiful life." "These groups are not new
walls between consecrated and laypeople, between mission in the Church and mission in the world," Cardinal Cordes continued.
"This is not about canceling the diversity of ministries and responsibilities: They seek to awaken
in every state of life a love for Christ, our brother and Lord, since from him alone comes salvation and joy." "Despite
aggressive secularization, which wants to bring all of us to the idolatry of the 'I,' they
keep Christ as the star that guides their activities," he said. " It's
not that they are 'more perfect' Christians. They are Christians like all of us. But they are special since God has prepared
them better for the decisive challenge of today: the new evangelization."
Declaration of Archbishop Angel Lagdameo
We are reprinting the declaration of Archbishop Angel Lagdameo in order to clarify the implications
of his statements, viewed from the developments regarding the split and the history behind his references to Frank Padilla,
to wit:
1. There is nothing to suggest but only the truth with respect to the references made
by Archbishop Lagdameo relative to the Vatican recognition and the representation made for the whole of CFC by no less than
Frank Padilla. Otherwise, the recognition could have taken the route of just indicating Couples for Christ. Neither did it
say that the recognition only inheres with the CFC Global Mission Foundation, Inc. because, as we have stated in the past,
there are 159 other CFCs which were part of said recognition.
2. There is significance placed in the "persona" of this representation vested by no less than
Church ecclesiology and the implications it presents, including the accountability of the person who undertook said representation.
It is no less than Church authority itself that places the mantle of governance on the person cited in the recognition and
this "charism" inheres in that particular individual for as long as he lives. We will come out with a series of articles on
the meanings of the Founder and the Keeper of the Charism in a future series.
3. The history behind the split has been well documented and no less than the CBCP's Episcopal
Commission of the Laity led by Bishop Gabriel Reyes, as well as Archbishop Angel Lagdameo and Bishop Socrates Villegas, exhorted
the erstwhile CFC Elders' Assembly and the IC not to push thru with the elections at a time of crisis and disunity. Bishop
Reyes even made a last ditch effort and appeal to the assembly to heed the CBCP advice, but to no avail. Thus, the reference
to the words "elected Head" carries a lot of implications in the Lagdameo letter and should be viewed from the context that
said elections were held not in communion with the Bishops' repeated exhortations. Further, in view of the fact that the CFC
statutes bind the community under the authority of the Bishops, the act of defying the Bishops' strong recommendations could
have constituted an act of gross disobedience to Church authority. These make the reference to the words " elected Head" subject
to close scrutiny and why the distinctions between "elected Head" and "global Head" had to be made.
4. It goes without saying that the words "Elected Head" simply mean since the incumbent secured
the position by virtue of an election, his stint is subject to term limits and is at best temporary in nature. Going by the
Archbishop's letter and reference to the "persona" of the one who made the representation, per ecclesiology and backed by
moral theologians and the Archbishops themselves infer that the position of the one who is given the mantle of governance
and recognized as the Founder inheres in the person as long as he lives, or decides to pass on the charism to another individual
or a group of individuals. More on this subject will be featured at a future article.
5. The point has to be stressed that the report of Bishop Reyes on the Aug. 28, 2007 meeting
allowed, in no uncertain terms, the existence of 2 communities. He went to great length even indicating that the use of the
CFC name does not pose a hindrance to this co-existence. This is not without basis because it finds reinforcement in the amplification
of Bishop Lagdameo's letter about the existence of multiple sub-communities within a "generic" community such as the Dominicans,
the Carmelites, the Benedictines, etc. Thus, it is with much regret that CFC-FFL finds itself locked in a legal battle with
CFC Global because the latter has claimed that it carries the sole birthright to the use of the CFC name. It may also be worthwhile
mentioning that there are 8 other corporations bearing the name Couples for Christ which were approved by the SEC, the Couples
for Christ Cooperative, the Couples for Christ Botika, among others. By circumstance, CFC-FFL finds itself the only target
of CFC Global in petitioning the SEC not to let us use the name.
6. We also have to restress the point here that our Christ is an all inclusive God who welcomes
both "Gentile and Jew alike."
7. CFC-FFL, thru Frank Padilla, has consistently proposed a CFC with 2 branches consistent with
past Church practice explained earlier but CFC/IC has repeatedly rejected this proposal .
We exhort all CFC-FFL members to please read anew the declaration of Archbishop Lagdameo viewed
from the exact context of what the statements contained therein mean in the light of the clarifications we have made above.
God bless.
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