Tag Archives: Environment

Religion, Science and Environment

PHILIPPINE ARCHBISHOP: NO MORE IVORY FOR RELIGIOUS IMAGES

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Villegas
Villegas

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.

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Ivory image, wooden cross

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!

Politics, Science and Environment

SUSPICIOUS MAIL PACKAGE SENT TO GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BEN CARSON TRACED TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR

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Brown vs. Carson
Brown vs. Carson

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Federal agents and bomb-sniffing dogs were dispatched to the office of Dr. Ben Carson in Alexandria, Virginia, shortly after the Republican candidate for president received a suspicious mail package.

The package consisted of a Manila envelope that seemed to contain a small metal device. Carson’s staff suspected the device to be an explosive.

The package was taken to a nearby football field to be destroyed.

Well, it turns out that the package came from the office of California Governor Jerry Brown. image

Brown confirmed that he sent the package consisting of a letter to Carson, along with a flash drive containing reports and information on climate change.

Carson was in California recently where he made statements denying that climate change was man-made.

No charges will be filed against the governor, since no one was injured. Brown, however volunteered to reimburse the Federal government for the cost of sending the agents and dogs to Carson’s office.

All’s well that ends well.

Government, Religion, Science and Environment

PHILIPPINES: GETTING MARRIED, BAPTIZED OR BURYING SOMEONE? MUST FIRST PLANT A TREE

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imageILOILO, Philippines – Catholics who want to marry, have someone buried or baptized will soon be required to plant trees, according to a Memorandum of Agreement among the Catholic Church, the local government and the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources in the province of Iloilo  in Central Philippines.

Not just any kind of trees, but Bonsai trees.

‘Bonsai’ is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated.

The agreement, signed on April 22 (Earth Day),  was originally aimed to reforest the lands denuded by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013.  Thousands of trees, including century-old ones, were uprooted when Typhoon Yolanda hit the province.

However, many Catholics in the province — mostly from low-income families — complained that they do not own any land and would not be able to comply with the tree planting requirement.

As a compromise, the archbishop of Iloilo relaxed the requirement by allowing Catholics to instead plant Bonsai trees on pots and containers inside their homes or apartments.

Taking advantage of the new rule, SM Department Stores in the province quickly added Bonsai trees to their list of available items in their gift registries.

Couples getting married or parents having their children baptized in the Catholic Church can now request their invited guests to give them the gift of Bonsai.

For Catholic burials, families of the deceased can now add the following line in the obituaries:

‘In lieu of flowers, please consider bringing a Bonsai tree to the wake or funeral.’