Philippines

Three Rivers Episcopal is in Manila for the installation of the the new Prime Bishop The Rt. Revd Joel A. Pachao. Posts are going to be spotty through the weekend.

Hello, Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John in Quezon City

Headed to the Philippines for the installation of The Rt. Revd Joel A. Pachao as the new "Prime Bishop." Posting may be a bit spotty for the next week.

New Prime Bishop of The Episcopal Church in the Philippines

From ACNS-

The Rt. Revd Joel A. Pachao has been elected as the 6th prime bishop of The Episcopal Church in the Philippines. Revd Pachao, 61, is currently the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Central Philippines, based in Baguio City in Benguet Province. He was one of three nominees.

In order to be elected, a candidate needed to receive a simple majority of votes from both clergy and the lay delegates, voting separately on the same balloting round. Revd Pachao was elected on the second ballot, receiving 44 clergy votes and 39 lay votes, with 36 and 32 needed, respectively, for election. The election took place during the church’s 10th Regular Synod being held last week.

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2017/05/new-prime-bishop-of-the-episcopal-church-in-the-philippines.aspx

Philippines: Priests negotiate surrender, baptism of homicide suspect

From ENS-

On May 28, 2015, Filipino Episcopal priests,  Lito Awakan, Leo Basing-at and Pablo Buyagan of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines, together with members of the Movement for the Advancement of Tribal Unity and Development (MAITUD),  effected the surrender of a suspect in the killing of a 13-year old boy from Bontoc, Mountain Province, which has caused tribal tension between the peoples of Bontoc and Tinglayan, Kalinga, the suspect’s hometown. Both towns are in the Cordillera mountains of Northern Philippines, whose tribes have a history of engagement in violent tribal wars. Prior to the surrender, the suspected assailant, Zaldy Alinong Dalog, confessed to the crime and requested that he be first baptized.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2015/06/09/philippines-episcopal-priests-negotiate-surrender-baptism-of-homicide-suspect/

Pope Francis: meeting with young people in Manila

From Radio Vatican-

Dear Young Friends,

When I speak spontaneously I do it in Spanish, because I don’t know the English language. May I do it? Thank you very much. This Fr Mark, a good translator.

First of all, a sad piece of news. Yesterday, as Mass was about to start, a piece of scaffolding fell and, upon falling, hit a young woman who was working in the area and she died. Her name is Kristel. She worked for the organisation preparing for that Mass. She was 27 years old, young like yourselves. She worked for Catholic Relief Services as a volunteer. I would like all of you who are young like her to pray for a moment in silence with me and then we will pray to Our Mother in Heaven. Let us pray.

More here-

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/01/18/pope_francis_meeting_with_young_people_in_manila/1118765

Episcopal Church of the Philippines issues disaster response report

From ENS-

The Philippines is “the most-exposed  country in the world to tropical cyclo0nes or typhoons.” There are accordingly around 19 typhoons that enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility in a typical year and 6 to 9 of these usually make landfall.

It is said that it is in times of sorrow and disaster that the best in the Filipino is manifested and practiced. If there is any bright spot to the catastrophic landscape brought about by the destructive typhoons, it is the immediate response of the Filipino people, even those directly affected, wanting to help fellow Filipinos. Donations from all over the country usually come pouring in, not only from the coffers of rich corporations or institutions or enclaves of the rich but more so from millions of simple folks sharing a peso or a kilo of rice just to be able to save or feed others. Volunteerism for rescue and relief operations remain strong, with many volunteers risking and a few even losing their lives to bring much needed assistance to people clutching on the straw of life.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/12/12/episcopal-church-of-the-philippines-issues-disaster-response-report/

Church to investigate ‘crying’ Mary

From The Philippines-

The Catholic church here will investigate the incident involving an icon of the Our Lady of Fatima that allegedly wept blood, drawing attention from residents in sitio Kanhai, Barangay Tisa, on Tuesday.

“Ang unang lakang mao ang pagsusi kon milagro ba gyud o katingalahan lang ang nahitabo (The first step is to look into the incident if it is really a miracle or just a mysterious occurrence),” said Msgr. Esteban Binghay, Episcopal vicar of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

“Careful ang simbahan (the Church is careful in its action),” he added.

Blood reportedly flowed from the eyes of the icon owned by the family of Victor Jude Rayla, 42, in sitio Kanhai.

“Milagro gyud ni (This is a miracle),” said Efren Cabrera, 61.

But neighbors who flocked to see the foot-long porcelain statue mocked Cabrera and other believers.

A man drinking beer with friends shouted: “Pagbag-o namo (Mend your ways)!” His words apparently fell on deaf ears for other people proceeded to take pictures of the Virgin Mary and wipe the statue with their handkerchiefs.

More here-

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2013/04/09/church-investigate-crying-mary-276720

Philippine church leaders join movement against big mining firms

From ENS-

Leaders from Philippine Roman Catholic and Protestant groups have joined non-government and indigenous peoples’ organizations in a renewed campaign against big mining firms.

“The campaign against large-scale mining is also a campaign against greed,” the Rev. Eduardo Solang, a retired priest of the Episcopal Church of the Philippines, told ENInews on Dec. 14.
Solang was among 150 delegates to a Dec. 13-15 mining and human rights summit convened in the northern Philippine city of Baguio by the Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance and the Ecumenical Bishops Forum.

According to organizers, the summit was aimed “to sum up the economic, social, cultural, environmental and human rights impacts of the ongoing destructive large-scale mining operations in affected communities based on shared experiences.”

During the summit, the Ibon Foundation, an independent research organization, listed 28 large-scale metallic mines nationwide, mostly owned by transnational firms, engaged in extracting gold, silver, copper, nickel, chromite and zinc.

It also reported 2,358 mines that extract non-metallic elements such as sand, gravel and cement.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2011/12/15/philippine-church-leaders-join-movement-against-big-mining-firms/

Episcopal church provides warehouse, drying area for corn farmers

From The Philippines-

Corn farmers in a remote community here are lucky to have been chosen recipients of two postharvest facilities from the Episcopal church to complement government efforts in improving their lives.

Around 24 farmers producing corn in Daram, Cudal are beneficiaries of the Community-Based Development Program (CBDP) of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Luzon (EDNL) with the on-going construction of a warehouse and multi-purpose drying pavement.

Development officer Fr. Allen Aligo of EDNL said the 20 feet by 30 feet warehouse and the 500 square meter drying pavement is funded by the United States of America Episcopal church and is expected to be completed this year.

He said the lot was donated by Juliana Salibad, a corn farmer. “The project is the progressive type wherein the beneficiaries can expand the edifice and convert it into a multi-purpose one that could be used as a barangay assembly place or council office and the pavement to have a stage for public occasions,” Aligo said.

More here-

http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=40617

Taiwan congregation's generosity builds churches in Philippines, Tanzania

From Episcopal Life Online-

When parishioners at St. James' Episcopal Church in Taichung, Taiwan heard about a group of Filipinos holding services under a mango tree, they were inspired to raise funds so that the community could worship in a building of its own.
That was in 1998 and the congregation's generosity saw the dedication of Christ the King in Sandeline, Diocese of the Central Philippines, the following year. But that was only the beginning. Eleven years later, St. James has funded the construction of 10 churches in the Philippines and one in Central Tanganyika, Tanzania.

The congregation at Christ the King are Igorot, an ethnic group from the Cordillera region on the Philippines island of Luzon that had moved from the mountainous provinces looking for land and work.

"The thought of that small Christian community worshiping week after week under a mango tree moved me to want to help them," said the Rev. Charles C. T. Chen, former rector of St. James' Church.

The congregation at St. James raised $6000 to build the church and a further $3,000 to connect a permanent water supply to serve the whole community.

Formerly a Spanish colony, the Philippines was predominantly Roman Catholic until Americans colonized the country in 1898 and Anglican missionary work began in the north and among Muslim populations in the south. Four Anglican dioceses were established by 1971 and the Episcopal Church in the Philippines became an autonomous province in 1990.

More here

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_113377_ENG_HTM.htm

Philippines: Council of Bishops issues letter in opposition to charter change

From Episcopal Life Online-

The Council of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines issued a statement July 30 against amending the nation's Constitution -- a change opponents say would perpetuate President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's hold on power.
Arroyo's presidential term expires in 2010. In the statement, the bishops equate the current political situation with that of former President Ferdinand Marcos' cling to power in the early 1970s. In 1972, after Marcos' efforts to extend his term failed, he declared martial law, holding on to power until his ouster in 1986, according to the statement.

"The political atmosphere this year is highly charged because of the expected presidential election next year," the bishops said in the statement. "Under this highly politicized atmosphere, it is certain that the conduct of Charter change will be characterized by intense lobbying, backroom dealings, political trade-offs, bribery and corruption, and the deception and manipulation that are characterizing marks of the incumbent administration."

The bishops expected Arroyo to use her July 27 presidential address to the nation as an opportunity to say goodbye in the fashion of former President Corazon C. Aquino, said the Rev. Winfred B. Vergara, program officer for Asiamerica Ministries in the Episcopal Church Center, in an interview.

"Instead she berated her critics and used her state of the nation address to hit back at critics and detractors. There is a perception that she will cling to power through charter change or declare a state of emergency the way Marcos did. They [the bishops] don't trust that she'll let go of her power," Vargara said, putting the bishops' statement in context.

(Aquino died July 31 while Arroyo was visiting the United States. Arroyo said she would cut short her visit to attended Aquino's funeral scheduled for August 5 in Manila.)

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_113016_ENG_HTM.htm

Episcopal Church challenges extra-judicial killings in the Philippines

Human rights violations in the Philippines, in particular the abduction of Episcopalian James M. Balao, have been addressed in US-based Episcopal Church testimony sent to the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Appropriations and Sub-Committee on State Foreign Operations.

The Rev Canon Brian Grieves, the Episcopal Church's senior director for Mission Centers, and Alexander D. Baumgarten, international policy analyst in the church’s government relations office, submitted the testimony, this month outlining the Episcopal Church's concern for the continuing widespread human rights abuses in the Philippines, where extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances have been commonplace under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's presidency.

Extra-judicial killings and abductions occur without the permission of a court or legal authority and are generally carried out by a government in order to rid itself of a disruptive influence.

More than 900 such killings have been reported since Arroyo was sworn in as president in 2001, according to the human rights alliance KARAPATAN.

There have been 193 victims of enforced or involuntary disappearance under the Arroyo government.

Balao, who was abducted in September 2008, is a founding member of the Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA), a federation of grassroots organizations dedicated to the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples' rights.

"Over the past three years, the military has been publicly denouncing the CPA as a 'front organization' for the Communist party and accusing James of being a leader in the Communist party in the Cordilleras," the testimony notes. "As a result, CPA members are being assassinated, forcibly abducted, and tortured."

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/9032