Category: WM Special

In 1997, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, issued an important document, Towards a Better Distribution of Land – The Challenge of Agrarian Reform. The question of land ownership and distribution had by then become an important issue. Private companies were buying large swath of land from governments, without caring for the rights of indigenous people or of farmers who had traditional access to that land. The document stated that “the development model of industrialized societies is capable of producing huge quantities of wealth, but also has serious shortcomings when it comes to the equitable redistribution of its fruits and the promotion of growth in less developed areas. While developed economies are not immune to this contradiction, it reaches particularly alarming proportions in developing economies. This can be seen in the persistence of the phenomenon of the misappropriation and concentration of land – that is, that good which, given the predominantly agricultural nature of the economy of developing countries, constitutes the fundamental production factor, together with labor, and the chief source of national wealth. This state of affairs is often one of the main causes of situations of hunger and want, and represents a concrete negation of the principle derived from our common origin and brotherhood in God (cf. Eph. 4:6) that all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights.” Many agrarian reforms have failed in reducing the concentration of landholdings, and in creating farm units capable of autonomous growth. We have instead witnessed the expulsion of large masses of peasant farmers or indigenous inhabitants from the land and their migration to urban centers, where they enter into a vicious cycle of poverty. In many countries of the South, governments did not provide the necessary infrastructures and social services in rural areas, nor did they provide technical assistance to small farm owners. In this way, local farmers cannot be competitive with large landholders. Small farmers are often forced into debt. They then have to sell their rights and give up farming. A new factor is destabilizing the agrarian reform in many countries, especially in Africa. More and more governments are leasing agricultural land in Africa and exporting the produce back to their country, or selling it in international markets. Saudi investors are spending to the tune of £60 million in Ethiopia. In exchange for investments in infrastructure and cash, the investors enjoy tax exemption for the first five years and will be able to export the entire crop. This, in a country routinely hit by famine and where the World Food Program provides food aid to close to 5M Ethiopians threatened by hunger and malnutrition. Leasing or buying farmland in distant countries is not new. Many international corporations have invested in farmland in the past. New is the size of farmland acquired, and the fact that more and more tracts of land are leased by governments. Leasing such large swath of land is bound to be controversial. Supporters of the deals point out that investors do introduce

The Church has always maintained that faith must be nurtured. No one is born a believer. We all are introduced to faith. Some come to know and accept Jesus as adults, others are born in Christian families. All have to be introduced to faith, to the teaching of Jesus, to the way the Church lives this teaching through the celebration of sacraments, and through its action in the world. This is why Christian communities organize catechumenate and catechism classes. Yet, this first approach to faith is not enough. We ought to continue our journey of faith by learning ever more about God and the way He wants His Kingdom to grow. The social teaching of the Church is part of this journey, and we are called to know and make it part of our lives. There are many areas to cover. Yet, some basic principles can guide us in our journey.   – Life is sacred. God is, first of all, Father. God has given us life, and He wants life to prevail. Human life and one’s sanctity and dignity are the foundation of the social teaching of the Church. While globalized culture proposes an individualistic approach to life, we realize that a person is sacred and social. That is, each human being is special, but he/she is not an island. How we organize our life together is then extremely important. The policies we accept to underscore our political and financial decision are valuable beacons of our understanding of the human person. They also give a good prospect of how we expect each person to live and grow. The Church teaches that the role of the government, and other international institutions, is to protect human life and human dignity and promote the common good. When a society is able to protect life, then there are good chances that human rights are kept in consideration and other basic responsibilities are met. However, an ideal society does not exist. This is why the Church calls all people of goodwill to make some choices. The first is an option for the poor and vulnerable in society. Modern society is characterized by a deep chasm between rich and poor, between able bodies and disabled persons. All vulnerable people need to be cared for. They are persons, and cannot hope to overcome the hurdles of life by themselves. The parable of the Last Judgment (Mt. 25) is a powerful teaching regarding the need to put the poor and vulnerable first.    – Social participation. Being responsible for the poorest and the most vulnerable means also to take a stand in society. Everyone has a right to participate fully in the economic, political, and cultural aspects of life. It is a fundamental demand of justice and a requirement for human dignity that all people be assured of a minimum level of participation in the community. Those who have a say in deciding policies, have a duty to make sure that all enjoy this basic right. This

The first human right recognized almost universally is freedom. Because of freedom, people understood the importance of abolishing slavery, of supporting the fight for independence of colonized nations, of asking for a change in South Africa’s apartheid rule. Freedom is the underlying value beneath all self-determination struggles. Yet, we do not live in a free world. As many as two billion people, one third of the world’s population, live in poverty or extreme poverty. These people are not able to make free decisions about their future. They are enslaved by their lack of choice. Poverty means lack of means to live. It also means lack of proper medical care, education opportunities for one’s children, social issues like alcoholism, drug abuse, child prostitution, child labor, among others. The fact that extreme poverty exists in all parts of the world is a sharp reminder that globalization – with all its benefits and opportunities – has not produced a broad-based system of inclusion. The concentration of extreme poverty in certain regions of the world is a sad reminder of the inequalities which exist in our world. Poverty is often the result of exploitation, and it remains a difficult reality to fight. In the present moment, globalization has reached all the corners of the Earth. Our societies are interconnected at various levels. Yet, instead of paving the way to a better distribution of resources, globalization is favoring a replication of a perverse pattern: the rich are growing richer, and the chasm dividing them from the poor is widening. In a way, one could say that the rich enjoy a life of plenty, thanks to the lack of basic comforts experienced by the poor. One of the main reasons for this situation is the imbalance of trade. The countries with the most natural resources are unable to control the value of these resources. The wealth produced by exploiting resources goes to the richest countries of the world. At the same time, within developing countries, the wealth generated by the local economy is enjoyed by a small elite, leaving most people out in the cold. It is not by chance that many countries in the South trail behind the West even though they provide most of the resources for the latter’s industrial development. Imbalance of trade also means that certain markets are heavily regulated to protect local production. Africa, Asia and Latin America could provide agricultural products at a fraction of the cost in the West. Yet, they are shut out by protection schemes. Schemes that are not approved by the West in their dealings with the South, in the name of a free market economy. In this way, farmers from the South see themselves locked out from lucrative markets. Poverty can be eradicated, and this process requires important changes in the world‘s economy, but also in the way we perceive people and their rights. Every person has the right to life, and to being the creative subject of that life. Every person ought to have

It has been defined as the Church’s best-kept secret. Many Catholics actually do not know about it. What is worse, it seems that many people involved in pastoral work are not aware of its existence. It is the social teaching of the Church. Yet, “the social teaching of the Church is an essential part of Catholic faith. This poses a serious challenge for all Catholics, since it weakens our capacity to be a Church that is true to the demands of the Gospel. We need to do more to share the social mission and message of our Church,” this is what the Catholic bishops of the United States wrote in their document, Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions. Over the centuries, the Church has spoken up against injustice and taken the side of the oppressed. This has been a growing awareness process. We see that the Church has understood more and more that siding with the poor, the exploited of society, is not simply a matter of trying to be ‘good.’ It is a demand of the Gospel. This has become even more evident in the past two centuries, when the growing sensibility towards human rights has seen the Church in the forefront of a new consciousness. Catholic social teaching is not a fixed body of knowledge to turn to. The teaching is contained in hundreds of official documents and in the experience of local communities that fight for justice. In 2004, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace published the Compendium of Social Doctrine of the Church. It is a large volume containing all the major modern documents of the Catholic Church regarding its social teaching. It is a good tool to turn to, an important recognition of the role of social teaching in the life of the Church. Yet, we should never forget the challenges, the choices and the achievements obtained by countless Christians who answer to social realities in their daily lives.    To promote justice and peace The 1891 encyclical letter Rerum Novarum by Leo XIII is considered the first modern document on social issues released by a pope. Before the Rerum Novarum, popes and bishops had taken clear positions against slavery, the oppression of populations by colonizing nations, and other social matters. Yet, it was only recently – modern papal practice of issuing encyclicals began with Benedict XIV (1740-1758) – that the Church has become aware of the importance of an organized pastoral attention to justice, peace, and related social issues. The Vatican Council II proposed the creation of a body whose role would be “to stimulate the Catholic Community to foster progress in needy regions and social justice in the international scene” (G.S., 90). Pope Paul VI then established the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace in January 1967. The Commission became a Pontifical Council in 1988, when Pope John Paul II wrote the letter Pastor Bonus which spelled out the objectives of the Council for Justice and Peace. Following this document, the

PREDA has been addressing poverty’s root causes in rural areas. Its Fair Trade project, headed by Mabelle Facturanan and Resty Arellano, has 26 handicraft development groups all over the country – working from Mindanao to Baguio, Kalinga and Bontoc – that help the producers develop and export their products such as bamboo baskets, wood carvings, pumice stone figures (from lahar), recycled bags (from waste materials) and sandals (from used rubber tires). Unfortunately, due to the global economic downturn, the orders have decreased in the last two years, affecting the income of producers. PREDA, which gives the producers interest-free production loans, returns a share of any earnings to them.  PREDA has been campaigning for environmental protection and organic farming. Its own organic farm is a training model for farmers and students. It is using vermiculture to change compost into natural fertilizer and producing hectares of healthy food for its children’s homes. This is led by Agriculturist José Donardo Angeles who oversees the Vocational Training Center at Bukang Liwayway in welding, carpentry, organic farming and other skills training for the boys rescued from jails. Donardo Angeles says: “Here, at Bukang Liwayway, the farmers, students and boys connect with God’s Creation and learn to care for it, to enjoy and love the beauty and importance of the environment and natural farming. We are being poisoned with too much toxic chemicals poured into the earth, rivers and oceans, so we are doing our share to change that.” PREDA Fair Trade has been exporting dried mangos for years. Sometime ago, with its partner in ethical trading, Profood – headed by Justin and Debbie Uy – it offered the best fair trade prices to farmers that challenged the unfair low price fixing cartel. As sales of dried mangos increased around the world, PREDA Fair Trade and Profood increased the volume of fresh mangos purchased and cornered the supply. They created a shortage and the price fixing cartel had to compete and pay higher prices to the farmers. Soon after, the cartel collapsed – to the benefit of all Filipino small farmers! Alex Hermoso, who is an advisor to the Fair Trade department, says: “This volume buying has helped small farmers all over the country. Like in a rising tide the boats get lifted up, so, too, are the small farmers ‘lifted up’ by the higher prices. PREDA wants to keep it like that because our export sales of dried mangos help the PREDA projects as well as the farmers.”  In partnership with local communities, especially with the Indigenous People of Zambales, PREDA has been planting thousands of mango trees every year with the help of volunteers. PREDA agriculturists Roger Hermogino and Aris Alantico travel to remote villages and cooperatives to encourage and train farmers to go organic, especially for mango production, as there is a huge market waiting to pay very high prices for organic produce. Aris Alantico says: “Filipino farmers have been made dependent on spraying chemical inducer to get a big harvest, but in

Marilyn C. was repeatedly raped by her stepfather when she was only 12. After months of abuse and threats to keep silent, Marilyn disclosed it to her mother who refused to believe her. She felt abandoned and unwanted and left her home in Mindoro, an Island south of Manila. She found a job peddling cosmetics door to door and was brought to Boracay where there are many night clubs and bars. There, she was commercially sexually exploited at 13. She was approached by an employee of one of the bars who introduced her to Bernard, a French bar operator. He gave her a job, but a few days later, he raped her. Then she was given to his friends, other foreigners, and told that it was the only way to get ahead in life. She felt trapped: “I was helpless and had no resistance left. I was like a powerless slave to them. Outside, I showed submission, but inside I was full of anger and hatred. I couldn’t escape from the island and I endured such life. I could see no other alternative for myself. I had lost my dignity and self-respect and felt I was worthless and had nothing to lose because no one respected me and I had nowhere to go.”  One day, a sex tourist liked her, hired her out and brought her to Manila. After a few days, he got tired of her. Like a child, he became frustrated and angry. Marilyn was so scared that he would hurt her, but instead he went out and bought another street girl. Marilyn was on her own. She met another pimp, a Filipino woman, who offered her a job to escort tourists. She had with her a younger girl, 9-year-old Pia. Marilyn was introduced to a Dutch man, Lennard Van E. Pia was brought to Room 406 where a German, Thomas B., got in and abused her. The two girls stayed together with the two sex tourists in Manila and the abuse continued, watched over by the pimp nicknamed Lani, who was getting the money.  At the beginning of 1997, the two sex tourists brought the girls to Boracay. They rented two cottages near the beach. Thomas set up a video camera and video taped himself sexually abusing Pia with her hands and arms tied. He had a computer business in Iserlohn, Germany, and presumably he was interested in selling or swapping child pornography over the internet. On the third day, the wife of the local mayor, alerted by the campaign about sex tourism, became suspicious of the two minors with the foreigners and called the police to investigate. They arrested Pia and Marilyn; Thomas and Lennard were allowed to go to their rooms giving them an opportunity to destroy all the incriminating evidence of their crimes by throwing the video tapes into the sea. On January 11, the National Bureau of Investigation filed charges against Thomas and Lennard and they were jailed. The girls were placed in

Once I was just walking on a street. A guy came up, thinking that I was a tourist – I was wearing casual clothes – and said: ‘Hi, Joe! Do you wanna a girl? Do you wanna girl, Joe?’ ‘No, no.’ ‘Wow! How about little girls? I have two of them here.’ There were two little 12-year olds in the doorway looking miserable. It was so shocking! I threatened the guy that I would call the police. He started laughing as if he was one. Policemen were standing on the road also laughing. They were making business selling girls to thousands of US sailors. I felt so frustrated but I could do nothing.” This iconic episode that occurred in the first years of his priestly ministry was a wake up call for Fr. Shay Cullen. The Irish Columban missionary, who after his ordination in 1969 had been assigned to the Philippines, was working as assistant priest in the Parish of St. Joseph in Olongapo, a city almost 200 kilometers northwest of Manila. There were many schools in the Parish and he started giving attention to the young people. Many had drug abuse problems and formed gangs to find emotional support and security. He realized that many of them hailed from broken families. One of the reasons was the city’s thriving sex industry. There were hundreds of sex bars and clubs that catered to American servicemen. Thousands of young women and children were being commercially sexually abused and exploited. Meanwhile, visiting the jail, the intrepid missionary was surprised to find so many young kids as young as 9/10 years old behind bars. He was asking himself what those emaciated, starving and ragged kids were doing in jail. “I felt like I wanted to get out of the Rectory, of the church compound and meet these young people. Eventually that’s what mission became for me – helping people who were in very bad circumstances,” confesses the missionary who asserts to have always been inspired by Jesus’ declaration of his mission in the Synagogue of Nazareth. Using a text from Isaiah, Jesus says that He had come to preach the Good News – to free the captives. Fr. Shay explains: “Of course, there are all sorts of captives, not only to be freed from evil, but also from oppression, poverty, humiliation, human suffering of all kinds… Even physically getting kids out of prison was a mission I took.” Such experiences became the turning point of his brief pastoral work. Because of his passion to help the youth, especially the drug addicts, he was persuaded to leave the traditional Church work. First, he joined an existing program – called DARE – to rescue victims of drug abuse and get some training; then, he founded the PREDA Social Development Foundation. He looked for a place and assistance. Alex Corpus Hermoso, a 17-year old sociology student from San Marcelino, Zambales, who had just started college in Manila was invited by Fr. Shay to join PREDA. He

It is a sad story. Four hundred years of Christian-Muslim interaction in the Philippines have often been centuries of suspicion, prejudice, and aggression. Yet, despite past hostilities, Catholics are urged by the Church today to promote a spirit of reconciliation with their Muslim neighbors. In the Virgin Mary, they can find one bridge to harmonious existence. Another story is not a sad one. It took place in Manila while I was waiting in an office before formal business hours. I found myself in a fascinating conversation with a charming young lady. Although presently employed in Manila, she originates from Jolo, southern Philippines. In the course of our friendly chat, she proudly told me how her name “Mary Ann” reflects her family which is part Muslim and part Christian. She narrated her background: “When my parents were choosing my name, it was my Muslim grandfather who insisted on ‘Mary’ because of his admiration for Mary, the mother of Jesus (‘Is) the prophet. Furthermore, he urged that my second name be ‘Ann’ in honor of Mary’s mother. Thus, while acceding to my parents’ decision that I would be baptized a Christian, he believed that my Muslim heritage would not be lost because of the name he had chosen for me.” She concluded her story: “I’m very happy that my own name symbolizes who I am – both Christian and Muslim.”   Parallels in Faith. Catholics should be delighted to discover how much Christians and Muslims have in common. Reverence for Mary is a dominant element of Muslim-Christian mutuality, a possible source of unity and a key for superseding hostilities. Listen to the words of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) on the proper attitude of Catholics toward their Muslim neighbors: “Although in the course of the centuries many quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Muslims, this most sacred Synod urges all to forget the past and to strive sincerely for mutual understanding. On behalf of all humanity, let them make common cause of safeguarding and fostering social justice, moral values, peace and freedom” (Nostra Aetate, 3). Most Christians are unaware of the reverence that Muslims have for Mary. Her name Maryam appears explicitly in the Qur’an 34 times. In 24 of these references, she is identified as the mother of Jesus (‘Is). One chapter of the Qur’an (Sura 19) is entitled Maryam and narrates events of the Annunciation and Jesus’ birth. In addition, Muslims call Mary Sitti Maryam; Sitti is a term of endearment because of her privilege to be the mother of the prophet ‘Is. Muhammad’s attitude toward Mary was always reverent and respectful. He spoke of her as a sign (ayat) for all creation and a model (mathal) for all believers. As the Qur’an notes (66:12), “she put her trust in the words of her Lord and believed in His Scriptures.” The Prophet of Mecca saw Mary as a sign and model because she truly submitted (Islam) to the will of Allah/God. This same virtue of Mary is recorded

Given the prominent role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Catholic Church, particularly in countries like the Philippines and Mexico, one might presume that a great amount of detail on her life is available to believers. However, the known historical data about the first-century Jewish woman, Miriam of Nazareth, is actually quite limited. Upon further reflection, one should not be overly surprised; recall that the New Testament is not intended to be a historical or biographical document. Mary’s life is primarily presented as intimately intertwined with the mystery of Jesus. Thus, the Gospels are written primarily as “faith summaries,” and the dominant portrait of Mary that emerges is that of a woman of faith, open to the Spirit, eager to do God’s will, living as a faithful disciple of her Son Jesus.  Several prominent Catholic biblical scholars confirm this point. “There is very little said about Mary in the New Testament” (A. Buono). “It is startling to find that Mary is never mentioned by Paul…. Actually, the only New Testament mentions of Mary are in the four Gospels, plus one reference in the Book of Acts (just before Pentecost)…. We know not a single New Testament detail about Mary in history after Pentecost; her role is in the lifetime of Jesus. It is even more sobering to find that, in the first three Gospels, she appears only once during the public ministry [of Jesus]” (R. Brown). And so, what can validly be noted about “the historical Mary”? What follows is a composite “historical” portrait drawn from respected Catholic scholars like A. Buono, R. Brown, E. Johnson, R. Maloney, and D. Senior.   Mary’s Origins. The name “Mary” derives from Miriam, sister of Moses; it was a very common name in Jesus’ day. According to the New Testament, Mary belonged to the tribe of Judah and to the house of David (Lk. 1:32, 69; 2:4). She was probably born in Nazareth, a small Galilean town, during the reign of Herod the Great. Nazareth was of little importance for most Jews: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn. 1:46). Nazareth is not mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures or in the Talmud. The fullest treatment of Mary is found in the second-century Protoevangelium of James. This apocryphal work, judged to be heretical in the sixth century, heavily influenced early Christian teaching and literature. It is in this source that Mary’s parents are named Joachim and Anna. This same dubious source led to the growth of many legends about Mary’s early years (e.g. that the young Mary was presented in the Temple by her parents).   Daily Life. Mary spoke Aramaic, probably with a Galilean accent (cf. Mt. 26:73). She would have had contact with a multilingual world, hearing Latin from the Roman soldiers, Greek as the language of commerce, and Hebrew as the Torah was read in the synagogue. Mary belonged to the peasant class, which earned a simple living from agriculture or small commercial efforts; some had

Christmas, that singular feast of great joy, celebrates the revelation of God’s love. In Jesus, born of Mary, we recognize God’s tender compassion, not from a distance, but intimately united with all humanity. We are convinced, in the words of the Christmas liturgy, that because God has become one with humanity, we humans can once again become one with God. Indeed, no human eye could ever see the glory of God; yet, now He is seen as one like us, completely human, sharing our mortal nature. In Jesus, the invisible love of God is made visible – all done for us and for our salvation. What mystery! What beauty! What depths of love! And yet, Christmas is not the beginning of God’s great “love story” with humanity. Christmas (December 25) looks to a pivotal event that happened nine months earlier: the Annunciation (March 25). Without the marvelous fiat or “yes” of Mary to the invitation of the Angel Gabriel, there would be no Christmas to celebrate. During the Annunciation, Mary expresses her amazement, her fears, and her questions. The angel assures her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you … nothing is impossible to God.” Mary responds: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Lk. 1:35-38).  The awareness of the centrality of the Annunciation in God’s plan of salvation struck this author most forcefully during a two-week pilgrimage to the Holy Land some years ago. Of all the many holy sites we visited during our prayer-filled journey, I had the most profound spiritual experience in Nazareth at the Basilica of the Annunciation. It was an experience of deep joy and gratitude. I praised God for Mary’s faith, her generosity, her fiat, and her openness to the Holy Spirit. A question kept returning, begging for an answer: What if Mary did not give her unconditional “yes” to God’s loving design of salvation? Oh, how radically different life would have been! Humanity would still be living in darkness and sin! What good would life have been without Mary’s self-gift to the Spirit and the consequent birth of Christ?  Scripture provides a wide variety of optics through which Christians can view the person of Mary. She may be validly understood as the Faithful Disciple of her Son Jesus, the Mother of the Redeemer, Virgin and Mother, Daughter of Zion, the New Eve, a Sign of Hope for God’s Pilgrim People. One could compose a lengthy reflection on each of these attributes of Mary. However, this particular presentation and meditation centers on viewing Mary as the docile instrument of the Holy Spirit. We will journey with Mary in the key events of her life where her active surrender to the Holy Spirit guides her faith and her actions.   Mary and the Spirit in God’s Design. Pope John Paul II (1920-2005), a deeply Marian pontiff, had profound insights into the person of Mary. He spoke often of her role in the life of the