Tag Archives: Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines

Philippine Catholic Bishops Post The Wrong “Duterte” Video On Social Media

April 19, 2016 Pol Pinoy 3 Comments

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles , Manila Bureau) – Philippine Catholic bishops Monday raised questions about the fitness of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to become president after the frontrunner candidate joked about an Australian lay missionary who was raped before being killed during a hostage crisis in 1989.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) which he heads asked Filipino voters to judge for themselves whether Duterte was the right choice for the presidency.

To help them decide, Villegas used social media to post a link to the controversial video clip of Duterte making a joke about the rape of 36-year-old Australian Jacqueline Hamill. In that clip, the mayor said he was mad because he should have been first in line (in the rape).

Alas, someone at CBCP uploaded the wrong video.

It was the trailer of the Oscar-winning film, “Spotlight” which chronicled the story of child molestation and rape by Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Boston.

The moral of the story? It’s always good to remember that there is a separation of church and state.

Religion, Science and Environment

PHILIPPINE ARCHBISHOP: NO MORE IVORY FOR RELIGIOUS IMAGES

November 5, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) , has issued a “pastoral guidance” prohibiting priests from receiving or blessing religious images made of ivory and any material derived from protected and endangered species.

However, he said that those statues and images of ivory already in use prior to the issuance of the pastoral guidance, should be safeguarded, and may remain in use for purposes of devotion and in recognition of their historical value.

“The Catholic Church must do its part. No matter the beauty of a work of art, it cannot justify the slaughter of wildlife, the use of endangered organic forms and the lending of a seal of approval to the threat posed to biodiversity by poachers and traffickers,” Villegas said.

Citing Pope Francis’ acclaimed encyclical on the environment, Villegas said: “Every instance of beauty is a reflection of the infinite beauty of the Creator. We cannot, without offending the Creator, deface his creation.”

Asked by reporters why the pastoral guidance did not include wooden crosses which are mostly derived from trees, the uprooting and cutting of which cause deforestation, which ultimately harms both animal and human species, as well as the environment, Villegas simply said, “next question, please!”

Talk about opening a Pandora’s box!

Religion

PHILIPPINES’ VICE PRESIDENT REACTS TO BISHOP’S CALL FOR VOTERS NOT TO ELECT THE CORRUPT

October 10, 2015 Pol Pinoy 58 Comments

ANGELES CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – The president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reiterated the Church’s call for voters not to elect corrupt candidates to office.

“Sinners can be forgiven but you cannot forgive the corrupt,” Bishop Socrates Villegas said. “If we say that corruption is one of our nation’s deepest scars and heaviest cross, and if candidates already have a history of corruption, let’s think twice, thrice, a hundred times before voting for them.”

Reacting to the bishop’s comments, Vice President Jejomar Binay accused the CBCP of meddling in politics by suggesting that Catholics not vote for him.

“May I remind the good bishop that there is separation between church and state, and that he should not be judging my career and record as a politician, or derailing my campaign to be the next president of the Philippines,” Binay said.