I came back from Manila last night. I was supposed to fly black to Davao immediately after giving the retreat to the clergy of Infanta but I had to stay on for two more days since I was asked to attend the meeting with the bishops who comprise the board of the CBCP-BEC national office - this is the office that assists the dioceses in the promotion and formation of Basic Ecclesial Communities in the Philippines.
The meeting was held last Friday afternoon at the Pius XII center where the CBCP will be holding their general assembly the next few days. The meeting was attended by Archbishop Orlando Quevedo (chairman), Archbishop Romulo Valles, Bishop Socrates Villegas, Msgr. Elmer Abacahin (executive secretary), Dr. Estela Padilla and yours truly. Estela and I are the consultants. (There are two other consultants who could not attend: Msgr. Manny Gabriel who is in France and Msgr. Joemari Delgado who could not come due to the flood in his place.)
We went through the report that will be presented to the CBCP general assembly, the financial report and the plans for the forthcoming BEC national assembly in November. We finalized the date and place: November 10-14 in Cagayan de Oro. There will be four delegates from each diocese: the bishop, the diocesan BEC program/commission coordinator, a lay pastoral worker, and a BEC leader. The theme of the assembly is: "BEC and Rural Development."
The executive secretary and the consultants will meet in Davao City at the end of this month to go through the recommendations of the National Rural Congress which will be held in Manila tomorrow and the following day. We will also finalize the plans for the assembly.
2 comments:
Great response, Father. A very tough, iron-fisted-type of response, which is great ‘cause it shows you’ve got the werewithal to back up your opinions. Just three points (I'm speaking for myself only, not for the others):
First, I am not a Manny Pacquiao fan and I don’t consider him my hero.
Second, I didn’t insult you nor did I use abusive language. I merely reacted to your arguments. I shared my opinion on your opinion. I was just a little too straight-forward and candid. If you, in any way found my comment insulting or abusive, then I apologize. But like you, however, I will not apologize for expressing my sentiments.
Third, people have different perspectives as to who they consider heroes. Some consider Pacquiao a hero while some don’t. In the same breath, some Americans did (and still does) consider Ali a hero while some didn’t (and never will). (Actually, a lot of Americans back then considered Ali a hero for his refusal to partake in the Vietnam War as a Military reserve.) The thing is, our perceptions of what a hero is are very different, and I hope you’d respect that. You cannot force people to say that Person A is a hero and Person B is not; ultimately, it is the people who will decide who they want to view as heroes.
I respect your views, Father Picardal, and I understand where you’re coming from. But you, too, should extend the same courtesy to others by respecting their opinion. In the same vein, you, too, should extend some courtesy to your own countryman for giving his best in the field he has chosen. I reread your post on Pacquiao and not once did you even give the man any credit whatsoever. The question I ask you, “Why?” Doesn’t Pacquiao, the person, deserve even a modicum of credit?
By the way, visit my blog if your time permits. I’d love to have a priest read my blog.
I accept your apologies. I usually do not respond to comments on my blog because I do not intend to turn this into a forum for debate or exchange of ideas. When I read other people's blogs (as I have yours), I don't argue with them or insult them because I believe it is their right to express their ideas and I appreciate their honesty. I prefer not to leave comments that would upset them. If I don't agree with other people's views, I express my disagreement in my own blog. You are right, we all have our views of what it means to be a hero. For me Manny is a great boxer and a generous person (he gave P3 million to the typhoon victims). But I do not consider him a hero, nor do I consider him a source of national unity. I know that many would have a different view. But I don't expect them to insult me just because I don't agree with me just as I wouldn't insult other for their own views. I have expressed my views and I dont' have time to engaqe in any debate. I have other more important things to do.
If you care to read some of my other posts, you will understand why I have abhor any form of violence.
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