PAPAL LEGATE TO BISHOPS: BE CREDIBLE AND EFFECTIVE EVANGELIZERS
[PHOTO at left taken in 2006 at Fordham University. The Archbishop also told Philippine Schools last week to Focus Faith in Christ. Photos by Marcel Salvaro)
MANILA, JANUARY 31, 2011 (STAR) By Evelyn Macairan – Papal Legate Archbishop Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski yesterday reminded Catholic bishops attending the 102nd Plenary Assembly that they should work toward becoming "credible and effective" evangelizers.
CBCP News reported that Cardinal Grocholewski made the statement during his homily at a Mass to open the CBCP 102nd Plenary Assembly being held at the Pope Pius XII Center along UN Avenue, Manila.
He reminded his brother bishops that they should become a source of Christian "dynamism" in the midst of secularism.
"Faith of itself, if it does not have work is death... Faith can live and grow only by working and by sharing the faith to others," Grocholewski said.
The Vatican representative believes that the Church leaders should help ensure that the Catholic faith will continue to grow because it has weakened, and it might even disappear if they become negligent.
"Faith can grow in us but it can also diminish. Each of us is responsible for the growth or the diminishing of this faith... Do not spare any effort to grow constantly in the faith. Have the courage to think, to judge and act entirely within the logic of the faith," said the Polish-born Cardinal who heads the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education.
He added, "Let us never forget that the faith is both a great treasure as well as a delicate plant, which must be nurtured with care everyday."
The CBCP presently has a total of 132 members, 97 of them active and 35 retired.
CBCP secretary-general Monsignor Juanito Figura said that about 101 bishops attended the three-day meeting, including Archbishops Gaudencio Rosales of Manila, Jose Palma of Cebu and the current CBCP president Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar.
The bishops' plenary assemblies are bi-annual meetings, which are traditionally held in the months of January and July.
EARLIER NEWS
Vatican representative to lead UST's Quadricentennial celebration By Evelyn Macarian (philstar.com) Updated January 21, 2011 06:05 PM Comments (0)
[PHOTO - President Benigno Simeon Aquino III graces the 10th Biennial Conference of the International Council of Universities of St. Thomas Aquinas (ICUSTA) in conjunction with the 400th foundation anniversary of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Wednesday (Jan. 26) at the UST Chapel in España, Manila. With the President are UST Rector Fr. Rolando dela Rosa, O.P., Archbishop Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, Papal Legate (special representative of the Holy Father) and Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Master of the Order of Preachers Fr. Bruno Cadore, O.P., and Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams.. (Photo by: Gil Nartea/Rey Baniquet/ Malacañang Photo Bureau/PCOO).]
MANILA, Philippines — The prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education (VCCE) Papal Legate Archbishop Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski is expected to arrive in the country and be the main celebrant in the Mass set on January 28 for the University of Sto. Tomas' (UST) 400th Quadricentennial celebration.
UST Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. today announced that the Cardinal Grocholewski would be in the country "to celebrate the mass and afterward he would leave for Rome."
Grocholewski is the Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education in Vatican which is responsible for almost 1,000 Catholic universities, 150 theological centers as well as more than 3,000 ecclesial seminaries.
The 71-year-old Polish Cardinal would be the main homilist. He would be joined by several bishops and archbishops in the country, many of who graduated at the UST Central Seminary.
Among those who confirmed their attendance are former Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) presidents Jaro Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo and Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla. Also present are Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas and Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Inigeuez.
Apart from the presence of a high-ranking official from the Vatican, Fr. De La Rosa said that Pope Benedict XVI has also prepared a video expressing his congratulations to the Pontifical school in Asia and this would be played during the Mass.
"Yesterday, we received a report from the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines (Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams) that the pre-recorded video of the Pope congratulating the university community for its 400 anniversary is already underway. So we are just waiting for it to arrive. We would show this video during the Mass," he added.
Also expected to attend the Eucharistic celebration is the new Master General of the Dominican Order Rev. Fr. Bruno Cardore, O.P.
The UST Rector also said that those who would be attending Quadricentennial Mass and activities during the period of January 2011 until January 2012 are entitled to receive plenary indulgence.
Cardinal Fortunato Baldelli, head of the Holy See's Apostolic Pententiary, informed the UST that the Pontiff also granted plenary indulgence "under the usual conditions of Sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father" to be gained by visiting the Santisimo Rosario Church (UST Chapel) during the "Quadricentennial Jubilee Year".
Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church defined indulgence as a "remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the sanctifications of Christ and the saints."
Today, the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also launched the commemorative P200 bills bearing the overprint of the UST's 400th years logo. They would be distributing P2 billion worth or 10 million pieces of these bills.
Of the 10 million pieces, 400 of them were uncut in pairs.
BSP-Bank Notes and Securities Printing Department director Nestor Salanio said that the rest of these specially issued bills would be made available next month.
"It is also worth noting that this is the only about the 11th or 12th of a print approved by the BSP and president of the Philippines for the last 20 years. BSP is very discriminating in printing anything on our currency and it has to meet the very high and rigid standards of the BSP. The celebration should have both national and international significance and I am very happy to say that UST is able to meet these very high standards of BSP," Salanio said.
They also launched the commemorative gold plated medals.
While the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost) is also coming up with four designs of the UST 400 Years (1611-2011) "Unending Grace" stamps that would be issued on Jan. 25. It is classified as a "commemorative" kind of issue with a denomination of P 7.00 and quantity of 100,000 pieces. Also to be issued are souvenir sheets with a denomination of P 37.00 and 10,200 pieces.
Business mogul Manuel "Manny" V. Pangilinan, despite not being an alumnus of UST, also donated P5 million to help the school's Simbahayan project which is its centerpiece project for the Quadricentennial celebration.
Smart Communications also announced that it would be issuing commemorative customized SIM cards and call and text P100 cards to mark the university's 400 years in existence.
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