(Crux Staff)
Philippines archdiocese to hold prayer rally to oppose legalizing divorce
Catholics in one city of the Philippines are holding a prayer rally to oppose the legalization of divorce in the country.
Philippines
PHILIPPINES
Philippines: debate on legalization of divorce heated
(Rafael Llanes. Zenit).
The bishops acknowledge the secular nature of the Filipino state and the religious freedom enjoyed by its citizens. In a world where divorce is a common legal practice, the Philippines stands out as the last country yet to legalize civil divorce.
Philippines
CBCP (Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Philippines) pastoral statement on divorce
(CBCP news).
“What God has joined together, let no one separate”(Mt 19:6). The Catholic Church has not given up on this teaching of Jesus, even in countries where civil divorce is already legal (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2384-2385).
U.S.
Archbishop Gallagher: Promoting peace is true instrument of defense
(Isabella Piro. Vatican News).
Faced with the conflicts that currently tear apart various parts of the world in a “third world war fought piecemeal”, faced with the arms race, nuclear threats, and terrorism, we must “understand that defense is not solely about military might but also about fostering institutions and promoting agreements between peoples.” Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, offered this assessment on Friday as he concluded his five-day visit to the Philippines. Speaking at the headquarters of the Foreign Service Institute in Pasay City, the Archbishop provided a broad reflection on the Holy See’s diplomacy in the contemporary international context, reiterating that talking about victory or defeat in our current context “is unrealistic.” Instead, he noted, it is necessary to establish “a new, just order” that transcends divisions and looks toward the recognition of human dignity.
El Vaticano defiende los derechos humanos en la disputa del Mar de Filipinas Occidental
(MATEO GONZÁLEZ ALONSO. Vida Nueva).
El secretario para las Relaciones con los Estados y las Organizaciones Internacionales, Paul Richard Gallagher, reclama un entendimiento pacífico con China
El presidente de Filipinas, Ferdinand R. Marcos y con el Secretario de Asuntos Exteriores, Enrique Manalo, han recibido este martes 2 de julio, al secretario para las Relaciones con los Estados y las Organizaciones Internacionales, Paul Richard Gallagher, en su gira por el país asiático. Una visita en la que el diplomático vaticano ha atendido a la prensa y ratificado la postura del Vaticano sobre la disputa del Mar de Filipinas Occidental.
A p. D’Ambra la massima onorificenza della Chiesa filippina
(Asia News. Santosh Digal).
Missionario del PIme da quarant’anni promuove il dialogo interreligioso e la pace tra cristiani e musulmani a Mindanao. Durante la prossima sessione della Conferenza episcopale a luglio riceverà il premio intitolato al mons. Jorge Barlin, il primo vescovo filippino. La Conferenza Episcopale delle Filippine (CBCP) ha annunciato che conferirà un premio a p. Sebastiano D’Ambra, missionario del Pime, per i suoi sforzi nel promuovere la pace e il dialogo tra cristiani e musulmani a Mindanao, nel sud delle Filippine.
‘Divorce law won’t make divorce moral’
(Gabriel L. Cardinoza. The Manila Times).
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said on Tuesday that the Catholic Church cannot support the bill legalizing divorce in the country because “it makes legal what to us is a transgression of Christ’s sovereign will.”
“The existence of a divorce law will not render divorce a moral option for Catholics for whom it will always remain contrary to the Gospel and to the constant teaching of the Church,” said Villegas in a pastoral letter posted in his social media page on Tuesday.
The pastoral letter was Villegas’ reaction to the proposed Absolute Divorce Act, which was approved in its third and final reading last week by the House of Representatives.
Villegas is a former president of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
“While we may not have the power to thwart the passage of a law that would legalize divorce by legislators minded to pass it, it nonetheless remains the duty of every Catholic to catechize and instruct fellow Catholics and brothers and sisters in other faith-communities the reasons why we cannot support [it],” said Villegas.
Mindanao cardinal deplores Cotabato chapel grenade attack
(CBCP News).
Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, the archbishop emeritus of Cotabato, denounced the grenade attack at a village chapel in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato on Pentecost Sunday, May 19.
The blast hurt two churchgoers attending a Bible service at the Sto. Niño Chapel in the city’s Barangay Rosary Heights 3.
Initial reports revealed two men riding a motorcycle were behind the attack.
Quevedo said the “dastardly bombing” was a “horrendous sacrilegious act that cries out to heaven.”
“The crime is doubly condemnable when committed against neighbors gathered to worship God in a sacred place,” he said.
Two Filipino priests among activists facing terror funding charges
(UCAnews. Ronald O. Reyes).
Advocacy groups have urged the Philippine government to drop “terror” charges against 27 activists, including two Catholic priests, who are accused of financing a communist rebel group in Negros island.
The accused are charged with funding a front of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros Oriental, where a decades-long communist insurgency has endured.
All the accused are affiliated with the Community Empowerment Resource Network based in Cebu City in the central Philippines. They have been charged with violating the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.
Philippine cardinal condemns chapel bombing as ‘horrendous sacrilegious act’
(CNA. Kate Quiñones).
A Catholic cardinal condemned the grenade attack on a village chapel during a Bible service that left two wounded in the southern Philippines on Sunday. The grenade attack happened on Pentecost Sunday at Santo Niño Chapel in Cotabato City at about 10:30 a.m. Cotabato City is in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, known as “Bangsamoro,” an area that has experienced religious freedom challenges in recent years. Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, the archbishop emeritus of Cotabato, denounced the grenade attack, calling it a “dastardly bombing,” according to the news site of the Catholic
Filipino bishop decries divorce reforms as a blow to family and society
(The Catholic Herald)
As the Philippines moved closer to legalising divorce , a leading Catholic bishop has warned politicians that “divorce weakens the fabric of society.”
The House of Representatives of the Philippines this week approved House Bill 9349, which would legalise absolute divorce in the predominantly Catholic Asian country.
The Philippines is the world’s only country without a divorce law – excluding the Vatican – since Malta legalised the practice in 2011.
“I urge members of Congress to reconsider the proposed divorce bill and instead focus on promoting policies and programs that support marriage, strengthen families, and protect the well-being of all members of society,” said Bishop Alberto Uy of Tagbilaran in the central Philippines of the central Philippines, in an interview Catholic-run Radio Veritas on May 16.
The bishop said a “society that values strong, stable families is a thriving society”.
“Divorce weakens the fabric of society by eroding the foundation of the family unit. It leads to social fragmentation, increased poverty, and a host of other societal ills. By promoting divorce, we are contributing to the breakdown of social cohesion and the erosion of moral values,” Uy said.
Father Jerome Secilliano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Permanent Committee on Public Affairs, said there is no need for divorce in the country.